What is the 'Crush Act'?

The Federal Government's "Crush Act" provides punishment, ranging in severity from a fine to five years in prison, for the display of acts of cruelty and sexual abuse intended for interstate commerce. "Crush" videos generally depict a woman, often in stiletto heels, stepping on small animals, typically rodents and kittens. This statute, however, is only applicable to websites and videos in which actual abuse has been verified, and even more specifically, to sites and manufacturers that intend to sell the images across state lines (this includes via the internet). A website such as Bonsaikitten.com, which offers "rectilinear kittens" (computer-generated depictions of kittens stuffed into glass jars) for sale, but provides no payment options or prices, is not prosecutable under the Crush Act because actual abuse does not take place. Hoaxes and parodies like Bonsaikitten.com, no matter how offensive, are exempt. In November 2004, the ASPCA expressed outrage at a Texas man