US President Donald Trump has signed The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act also known as the PACT act criminalising animal abuse.
The act prevents people from crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling, hurting or any other type of violence towards animals.
Breaking the law could result in a fine and up to seven year's imprisonment.
The act, introduced earlier this year by Congressman Ted Deutch and lawmaker Vern Buchanan, closes the loopholes in 2010's Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act.
The 2010 Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act prohibited the selling and distribution of animal torture videos, known as crush videos.
However, the base act of animal cruelty was not included, according to Deutch's office.
"Preventing animal cruelty is not partisan; it's part of our values as a country. I'm proud that this legislation moved so swiftly through Congress, with such broad bipartisan support," said Deutch in a statement.
The bipartisan bill was agreed to in the Senate earlier this month by unanimous consent.
The act does not apply to the slaughter of animals for food, hunting, trapping, fishing, a sporting activity not otherwise prohibited by federal law, medical or scientific research, actions necessary to protect the life or property of a person, or euthanising an animal.
