U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (KY-01), has announced that the President today signed into law H.R. 5566, the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010.
As an original cosponsor of this legislation, Rep. Whitfield advocated for its passage after a Supreme Court ruling that overturned a law on depictions of animal cruelty. The Court held that the law was too broad and was a violation of guaranteed free speech. The Court also held that a more narrowed approach would not be in violation of the Constitution. In response, H.R. 5566 was drafted to ban the creation and distribution of obscene animal torture videos that show the intentional crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating and impaling of live animals. The legislation included a provision exempting animal hunting shows and videos.
Following the Supreme Court ruling on April 20, 2010, thousands of videos began circulating on the internet, mostly from oversea sources, prompting Congress to take action and close this overseas production loophole. H.R. 5566 includes a provision making it illegal to sell or distribute videos made overseas that show the intentional crushing of animals.
"I am pleased that the President signed this legislation into law. The intentional cruelty of animals is something we should all take seriously," said Whitfield. "I would also like to acknowledge the bipartisan support of over 262 House members who cosponsored this bill, making it a good example of true bipartisan workmanship."