{"id":109612,"date":"2019-10-29T11:34:38","date_gmt":"2019-10-29T15:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=109612"},"modified":"2019-10-29T11:34:38","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T15:34:38","slug":"after-push-house-passes-animal-cruelty-legislation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=109612","title":{"rendered":"After push, House passes animal cruelty legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Rep. Anthony Brindisi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Brindisi: Cracking down on animal abuse unites Democrats and Republicans; we need to give law enforcement tools they need to hold abusers accountable<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following a push by Congressman Anthony Brindisi, the House of\nRepresentatives passed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act of 2019.\nBrindisi, a leader in the fight against animal abuse, was a cosponsor of the measure.\nThis legislation creates a federal animal cruelty statute prohibiting the most heinous\nacts of abuse that can occur beyond the reach of state cruelty laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCracking down on animal abuse is an issue that unites Democrats\nand Republicans,\u201d said Brindisi. \u201cAs a parent of a rescue dog myself, I know how\nimportant animals are to families and we need to give law enforcement the tools\nthey need to hold abusers accountable. I am a proud cosponsor of the PACT Act and\nI hope we can see this bipartisan, common-sense bill become law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H.R. 724 would make some of the most egregious forms of animal\ncruelty (specifically crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling or sexual\nexploitation) federal crimes, cases where state laws do not apply. The current federal\nlaw prohibiting the creation and distribution of \u201ccrush videos\u201d does not cover the\nunderlying acts of animal abuse. The PACT Act extends federal jurisdiction to these\nspecific and unspeakable acts of animal abuse, thereby closing the loophole. Though\nanimal fighting and the distribution of so-called \u201ccrush videos\u201d are illegal under\nfederal law, the vast majority of animal cruelty laws are at the state level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Brindisi joined Broome<\/a> and Oneida County<\/a> law enforcement, community leaders and activists\nto demand action on this important legislation. Those leaders praised Brindisi\u2019s\nefforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy administration has continued to put the protection and treatment\nof animals front and center,\u201d said Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente. \u201cWe\nhave contracted with the CNYSPCA for animal abuse investigations, created an animal\nabuser registry and are currently devising regulations that will ensure animal rescues\nare safe and humane. I thank Congressman Brindisi for bringing animal safety issues\nto Washington and working to pass critical federal legislation that will further\nensure the proper treatment of animals and prevent animal abuse in Oneida County.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnimals are voiceless and it is our job to protect them, especially\nour pets who are like family members,\u201d said Broome County Executive Jason Garnar.\n\u201cI thank Congressman Brindisi for working at the federal level to provide protection\nto animals. As their caretakers it is our duty to keep them safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a law enforcement officer and animal lover, I am happy to\nsee the PACT Act moving forward,\u201d said Broome County Sheriff David Harder. \u201cAnimal\nabusers need to know that law enforcement has all the resources we need to hold\nthem accountable, and this bill helps us do just that. I want to thank Congressman\nBrindisi for putting politics aside and working with both parties to get this passed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnimal abuse is wrong and we need to do everything we can to\nstop it,\u201d said Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol. \u201cThis bill will get law enforcement\nthe tools we need to catch the abusers and bring them to justice. I\u2019d like to thank\nCongressman Brindisi for his work on this issue. He listens to the needs of the\nlaw enforcement community and we know we have a friend fighting for us in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe appreciate Congressman Brindisi for being a friend to all\nanimals,\u201d said Diane Broccoli, Executive Director with Stevens-Swan Humane Society.\n\u201cWith the passage of this bill, Congressman Brindisi continues to follow through\nand get things done on issues important to Upstate New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe at the Broome County Humane Society appreciate Congressman\nBrindisi being an advocate for animals in Washington,\u201d said Karen Matson with the\nBroome County Humane Society. \u201cThis bill is another strong step in protecting the\nanimals in need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brindisi is a cosponsor of other animal welfare bills, as well.\nIn addition to the PACT Act, Brindisi is a cosponsor of the Puppy Protection Act\n(H.R. 2442) to set new requirements on commercial breeders. The U.S. Department\nof Agriculture regulates federally licensed commercial dog breeders that sell dogs\nwholesale to retail pet stores and commercial brokers or directly to consumers over\nthe Internet under the Animal Welfare Act. While the Animal Welfare Act is meant\nto ensure dogs in federally licensed facilities are treated humanely, the current\nregulations fall far short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Puppy Protection Act would ensure dealers are treating dogs\nhumanely and includes requirements on cage size, human socialization, veterinary\ncare and outdoor activity. The Puppy Protection Act will not impact family pets,\nlivestock or hobbyist breeders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Brindisi worked with Democrats and Republicans\nto pass the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act <\/a>in the House. Soring is\nthe practice of inflicting pain on horses in order to artificially alter their gait\nand gain unfair competitive advantage at horse shows. Even though it\u2019s been illegal\nfor nearly 50 years, it\u2019s still widely practiced. Brindisi cosponsored the bill\nin the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PACT Act now moves to the Senate for consideration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brindisi: Cracking down on animal abuse unites Democrats and Republicans; we need to give law enforcement tools they need to hold abusers accountable Following a push by Congressman Anthony Brindisi, the House of Representatives passed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act of 2019. Brindisi, a leader in the fight against animal abuse, was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23679,22359,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agfarming","category-pets","category-top-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43meu-svW","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Rep-Anthony-Brindisi-Congress.jpg?fit=220%2C220&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=109612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/102245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=109612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=109612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=109612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}