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Today, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down as “overly broad” a law meant to ban the distribution of videos depicting illegal conduct such as “crush” videos, in which animals are slowly killed under a high heel or bare foot, and videos in which animals are forced to fight or tortured in other ways—but we fully expect the Court to uphold a narrower federal statute barring distribution of vile videos that depict indisputable cruelty to animals. The bill is already in the works. And in case anyone out there who takes pleasure in others’ pain is rejoicing, please take note: Abusing animals or inciting others to do so is still illegal and will result in jail time.
Caring people agree that video depictions of cruelty to animals should only be legal when their purpose is to expose—not promote—cruelty to animals. PETA’s undercover footage—which shows elephants as they are beaten by circus trainers, chickens as they are scalded to death in slaughterhouses, and snakes as they are skinned alive—truly motivate, rather than titillate, viewers and inspire them to get involved and help stop the suffering. Case in point: You and me. Tell us which PETA video inspired you (and then please do a good deed by forwarding it to someone who doesn’t realize what’s going on in the world).
Written by Karin Bennett
