CORRECTION: I got the basic source information for this article from an email I received from one of many animal rights groups I belong to. I did not thoroughly investigate the message, because this ruling happened on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, not earlier this week, as I stated.
Thank you to everyone who corrected me, and many apologies for my error. This is why I do not usually write news posts.
On April 20, 2010, the United States Supreme Court struck down a 1999 federal law banning animal cruelty – or “crush” – videos, showing the actual killing of cats, dogs and other small animals by stomping or other intensely cruel methods. The killings are filmed, and the DVDs are then sold to fetishists.
The Court, which voted 8-1 to strike down the law, based its decision on the fact that the 1999 law, which was passed by Congress, was too broad. Justice Samuel Alito was the only voice of reason and common decency dissenting vote. He insisted that banning the sale of crush videos was essential to stop people from abusing the animals.
For more information, see the PBS.org article, which includes a link to the complete SCOTUS decision.
If you’d like to donate to an animal protection organizations, here are some links:
www.aspca.org – ASPCA
www.humanesociety.org – Humane Society
www.aldf.org – Animal Legal Defense Fund
