FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Lawmakers in Congress are pushing for legislation that would result in much stiffer punishment for those convicted in animal cruelty cases.
U.S. Representative Ted Deutch, D-Fla., has sponsored the bill called the “Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act.”
The bill would result in a sentence of up to seven years in prison for abusers.
It would also allow local law enforcement to work with federal agents if a suspect flees to another state.
“There is one issue we can all agree on, and that’s making animal abuse a federal crime,” Deutch said. “Protecting our pets, protecting our animals, is an issue that merely everyone agrees on, which is worth emphasizing in a time where agreement is rare.”
While animal cruelty is a felony in all 50 states, supporters of the bill said making it a federal crime will give law enforcement additional tools to prosecute.
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