US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

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[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 18USC48]

 
                 TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
 
                             PART I--CRIMES
 
               CHAPTER 3--ANIMALS, BIRDS, FISH, AND PLANTS
 
Sec. 48. Depiction of animal cruelty

    (a) Creation, Sale, or Possession.--Whoever knowingly creates, 
sells, or possesses a depiction of animal cruelty with the intention of 
placing that depiction in interstate or foreign commerce for commercial 
gain, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 
years, or both.
    (b) Exception.--Subsection (a) does not apply to any depiction that 
has serious religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, 
historical, or artistic value.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section--
        (1) the term ``depiction of animal cruelty'' means any visual or 
    auditory depiction, including any photograph, motion-picture film, 
    video recording, electronic image, or sound recording of conduct in 
    which a living animal is intentionally maimed, mutilated, tortured, 
    wounded, or killed, if such conduct is illegal under Federal law or 
    the law of the State in which the creation, sale, or possession 
    takes place, regardless of whether the maiming, mutilation, torture, 
    wounding, or killing took place in the State; and
        (2) the term ``State'' means each of the several States, the 
    District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin 
    Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
    Mariana Islands, and any other commonwealth, territory, or 
    possession of the United States.

(Added Pub. L. 106-152, Sec. 1(a), Dec. 9, 1999, 113 Stat. 1732.)