FBI gets new animal cruelty unit to prosecute dogfighting, cockfighting crimes
H.R. 3683 — FBI Animal Cruelty Taskforce Act of 2025 · Filed by Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) · 23 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 3, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a new Animal Cruelty Crimes Taskforce within the FBI to investigate and prosecute federal animal cruelty crimes, including dogfighting, cockfighting, and crush videos. The taskforce will develop training materials for local law enforcement, coordinate with other federal agencies and the USDA, and report annually to Congress on charges filed, convictions, and investigations that did not result in charges.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is the establishment of a new federal taskforce dedicated to investigating and prosecuting animal cruelty crimes. It is a straightforward expansion of FBI jurisdiction and capacity in a specific crime category.
What the text implies
- The taskforce's coordination mandate with USDA, CBP, and Marshals Service may expand federal involvement in cases traditionally handled by state and local authorities, potentially shifting enforcement burden and resources.
- Annual reporting requirement creates a public record of federal animal cruelty enforcement, which may increase political pressure on the FBI to prioritize these cases and demonstrate measurable results.
- Training materials produced by the taskforce may standardize investigation methods across jurisdictions, potentially improving case outcomes but also centralizing enforcement philosophy.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates a dedicated federal enforcement mechanism for animal cruelty crimes, which are serious federal offenses. Citizens benefit from increased investigation capacity, training for local law enforcement, and interagency coordination. The reporting requirement adds transparency and accountability to federal enforcement efforts.
Named in the bill
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Justice, Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture, United States Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, House Committee on the Judiciary
Where it stands
23 cosponsors: 17 Democrats, 6 Republicans.
- Jun 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $0 in lobbying spend. A filing names 12 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Josh Gottheimer, the sponsor, reported $1,052,800 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Animal Wellness Action — $0 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,550 characters) on Nov 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,927 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-11-02.
“FBI gets new animal cruelty unit to prosecute dogfighting, cockfighting crimes” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr3683 Report an error
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