Protect our Pets Act
Key claim: HR8480 would increase federal prison terms for animal crushing to up to 10–15 years and create a new federal criminal offense for knowingly abandoning or endangering domesticated animals.
Abstract
(HR8480 · 119th Congress) Protect our Pets Act This bill increases federal criminal penalties for animal crushing. The term animal crushing includes conduct to purposely crush, burn, drown, suffocate, or impale living animals. The bill also establishes a new federal criminal offense for abandoning or endangering domesticated animals. Current law imposes criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to seven years, or both—for animal crushing. Under this bill, an individual who commits an animal crushing offense is subject to a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both for a first offense; and a fine, a prison term of up to 15 years, or both for a second or subsequent offense. Additionally, the bill establishes a new federal criminal offense for knowingly abandoning a domesticated animal or committing an act of violence that endangers a domesticated animal. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both for a first offense; and a fine, a prison term of up to 15 years, or both for a second or subsequent offense. The bill provides exceptions, including for conduct that is (1) the slaughter of animals for food, (2) medical or scientific research, (3) necessary to protect the life or property of a person, or (4) performed as part of euthanizing an animal. Latest action (2026-04-23): Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Why this matters
Federal animal cruelty law sits at the edge of the civil rights area because it defines criminal conduct, penalty exposure, and due-process considerations for defendants, while also expanding federal jurisdiction over conduct traditionally handled at the state level. Tracking incremental penalty escalations and new offense categories helps show how the federal criminal code grows and how statutory exceptions (food, research, self-defense, euthanasia) shape which affected groups—pet owners, farmers, researchers—face liability.