The House of Representatives passed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act on Oct. 22, seeking to make animal cruelty a federal offense. While the bill has yet to pass the Senate, it shines as an example of some of the common-sense legislation that the U.S. should be able to pass, even with such divided leadership in Washington. 

The PACT Act would revise 2010 laws that outlawed videos of “animal crushing,” from being shared online. That act was met with criticism for not making the actual act illegal, merely the filming and sharing of that film. 

Under the proposed law, a person could be prosecuted for crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating and impaling animals, as well as sexually exploiting an animal. This law would make the issue a federal concern, leaving state or local laws in place in the process. 

If the law does pass the Senate, it should be left with the teeth needed to actually ensure that animal abuse is prevented. Hopefully, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will let it through his iron-strong block on the Senate passing any legislation from the Democrat-led House. It is surprising, and shameful, that it took the U.S. this long to draft animal rights laws like this. 

The law is currently worded in such a way that still permits hunting and farming, with special concern made for the commercial farming industry. What is most interesting about this is that, without specific permissions left in place, a large part of the commercial farming industries practices would be considered animal abuse. 

The bill was introduced by two congressmen, Democrat Ted Deutch and Republican Vern Buchanan, both from Florida. The penalties proposed are a fine, a prison term of up to seven years or both. 

Fortunately, it seems that Deutch and Buchanan drafted the bill in a way that the experts are supportive of. The president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, Sara Amundson, applauded the passing of the bill, according to ABC News. 

It is not questionable in the slightest whether animals deserve the right to not be killed or harmed for the entertainment of humans. Anybody who harms animals intentionally should be treated like a criminal and charged with a crime, something that has not been assured in the U.S. This House bill is not only a shining example of bipartisan achievement, but also an example of how our government can still settle the problems that society has largely come to a conclusion on. It is a much-needed advancement on the path to animal rights.