The thought sickens me: small animals like kittens and puppies being restrained on the ground then brutally tortured and crushed to death by someone wearing high-heeled shoes. And all of this being videotaped, no less, to be sold over the Internet for profit.
In 1999, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed the “Crush Act” to prohibit the creation, sale and possession of these types of “crush” videos depicting such blatant and gruesome animal cruelty.
But sadly, as you may have heard in the news or read online, the U.S. Supreme Court on April 20 declared this law unconstitutional, ruling that it might impinge on First Amendment free speech. The Court’s ruling effectively made it legal to create and sell videos depicting defenseless animals being intentionally tortured, wounded and crushed to death by human feet.
Members of Congress and United Animal Nations (UAN) are not taking this ruling lightly, and you don't have to either.
The day after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Representative Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) introduced a new bill, H.R. 5092, to amend the original Crush Act so it is targeted specifically at the kind of "extreme animal cruelty" depicted in “crush” videos.
You can help the animals by asking your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor and support this bill.
Before the 1999 law was enacted, approximately 3,000 horrifying “crush" videos were available, selling for up to $300 apiece. Those videos disappeared soon after the law was passed. We must encourage Congress to act quickly to pass H.R. 5092 to prevent these videos from coming back.
Blatant and senseless violence toward animals is simply unacceptable. Research has shown over and over that people who abuse animals are more likely to be violent toward other people. Consequently, “crush” videos not only cause needless animal suffering, but they promote violence toward all living beings.
Please contact your U.S. Representative today and ask him or her to co-sponsor and support H.R. 5092 to amend the Crush Act.
It's easy to find your Representative online by entering your state and zip code.
Read the letter I wrote to my Representative to get ideas for your own letter.
Thank you for being an advocate for the animals!
Warmly,
Nicole Forsyth
President and CEO
United Animal Nations
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