To amend section 48 (relating to depiction of animal cruelty) of title 18, United States Code, and for other purposes.

Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or maximum prison term of five years for anyone who knowingly sells or offers to sell an animal crush video in interstate or foreign commerce for commercial gain. States that this prohibition shall not be construed to prohibit the selling or offering to sell videos that depict hunting.

Defines "animal crush video" as any visual depiction of animals being intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, or impaled that: (1) depicts actual conduct in which a living animal is tortured, maimed, or mutilated that violates any criminal prohibition on intentional cruelty under federal law or the law of the state in which the depiction is sold; and (2) taken as a whole, does not have religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, historical, or artistic value.

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5092 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5092

To amend section 48 (relating to depiction of animal cruelty) of title 
            18, United States Code, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 21, 2010

 Mr. Gallegly (for himself, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. 
   Farr, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Gary G. Miller of 
   California, Mr. Lewis of California, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Linder, Mr. 
  Blumenauer, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Brown of South Carolina, Mr. 
 Upton, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Wilson of 
  South Carolina, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Wolf, Mr. 
 Royce, Ms. Sutton, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Castle, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, 
 Mr. Hare, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Gerlach, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California, 
 Mr. Olver, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Hall of New York, Mr. Filner, Mr. Weiner, 
  Ms. Watson, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Sherman, Mrs. Davis of California, Mrs. 
 Capito, Mr. Kildee, Mr. King of New York, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. LoBiondo, 
 Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Rothman of New 
Jersey, Mrs. Bono Mack, Mr. Coble, Mr. Schock, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Israel, 
 Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mrs. Emerson, Mr. Holt, and Mr. Smith of Texas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend section 48 (relating to depiction of animal cruelty) of title 
            18, United States Code, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ANIMAL CRUSH VIDEOS.

    (a) In General.--Section 48 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 48. Animal crush videos
    ``(a) Prohibition.--Whoever knowingly sells or offers to sell an 
animal crush video in interstate or foreign commerce for commercial 
gain shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 
years, or both.
    ``(b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in subsection (a) shall be 
construed to prohibit the selling or offering to sell a video that 
depicts hunting.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `animal crush video' means any visual 
        depiction, including any photograph, motion-picture film, video 
        recording, or electronic image, which depicts animals being 
        intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, or impaled, that--
                    ``(A) depicts actual conduct in which a living 
                animal is tortured, maimed, or mutilated that violates 
                any criminal prohibition on intentional cruelty under 
                Federal law or the law of the State in which the 
                depiction is sold; and
                    ``(B) taken as a whole, does not have religious, 
                political, scientific, educational, journalistic, 
                historical, or artistic value; and
            ``(2) the term `State' means each of the several States, 
        the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
        Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, and any other commonwealth, 
        territory, or possession of the United States.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The item relating to section 48 in the 
table of sections at the beginning of chapter 3 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows:

``48. Animal crush videos.''.
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