U.S. anti-cruelty to animals’ legislation declared unconstitutional

While the rest of the civilized world is riveted upon play-off hockey, Canada's national blood sport, where well-padded millionaires bludgeon each other, I've been occupying myself by reading recent constitutional law decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court (well, between periods, anyway). I was saddened to read, in the case of U.S. v Stevens, that the Crush Act, a piece of federal legislation enacted in 1999 to make illegal the making, selling or possession of materials depicting genuine acts of cruelty to animals, was struck down this week as being an unconstitutional limitation on the right of free speech.

Although the ruling was probably quite correct legalistically, as an animal lover it turns my stomach to think that perverts are now free to traffic in videos of dog fights, boar-baiting and even animal snuff flicks.