Animal shelters on Delmarva applaud new animal cruelty felony law

GEORGETOWN, Del. – Animal shelters across Delmarva are celebrating a bill that’s heading to President Donald Trump’s desk making certain types of animal cruelty a federal felony. Under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, also known as the PACT Act, a person can be prosecuted for crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating or impaling animals or sexually exploiting them. And if you’re convicted of these charges, you could face federal felony charges and even up to seven years in prison. Shelters tell us it’s a huge win for these four-legged friends and the animal advocate community.

“I think it’s super important to hold people accountable and to be able to properly protect those that don’t have a voice which is dogs, cats, or whatever it may be. It’s great that it seems like it was a bipartisan effort to make it happen and it’s just positive all around,” said Brandywine Valley SPCA shelter manager, Chris Farrell.

The Senate unanimously passed the ACT on Tuesday, two weeks after the House passed it on a voice vote