Senate OKs Gallegly’s Bill on Animal Cruelty Films

In response to a case that started in Thousand Oaks, the U.S. Senate on Friday unanimously approved legislation that makes it a federal crime to sell or distribute animal cruelty videos across state lines.

The bill on so-called “crush videos” was drafted by Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) and approved overwhelmingly by the House last month. It now goes to President Clinton, who is expected to sign the bill.

“This legislation is needed to protect animals from cruel and inhumane treatment, but it is also necessary because numerous studies have found that people who commit violent acts on animals will later commit violent acts on people,” Gallegly said afterward in a statement.

The videos are part of a multimillion-dollar industry and sell for up to $300 apiece. They feature women, sometimes in spiked heels and sometimes barefoot, slowly crushing small animals, such as mice, kittens and hamsters, to death.

Law enforcement officials believe that some people derive sexual pleasure from the images.

The problem first came to the attention of Ventura County officials last year after the Humane Society in Washington said it was able to purchase a crush video on the Internet that had been produced in Thousand Oaks.

The local district attorney’s office investigated the case, but prosecutors were unable to file charges because the video was made in 1992, which exceeds the state statute of limitations under animal cruelty laws.

Currently, people who make crush videos can only be prosecuted under animal cruelty laws, authorities said. Those laws don’t prohibit the production or sale of crush videos.

The alleged producer of the video made in Thousand Oaks, 48-year-old Gary Thomason of Anaheim, has been charged with three counts of animal cruelty for allegedly making another crush video in the San Gabriel Valley.

He has pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles County court and also remains under investigation by Ventura County authorities.

Gallegly spokesman Tom Pfeifer said late Friday that the lawmaker’s bill adds teeth to state animal cruelty laws because a majority of crush videos are distributed interstate.

“They sell most of this on the Internet and in advertisements in the back of adult magazines,” Pfeifer said. “We know of over 2,000 titles.”

If convicted under the federal law, a crush video distributor could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

Although the bill has the overwhelming support of the motion picture industry and animal activists, critics maintain that the bill would violate free-speech rights and allow for the prosecution of legitimate animal documentaries and pictures of bullfights in magazines.

Gallegly said the bill is tailored to make several exceptions.