AMENDMENT 800
Section 2E3.1 is amended in subsection (a) by striking subsection (a)(2) as follows:
“(2) 10, if the offense involved an animal fighting venture; or”;
by redesignating subsections (a)(1) and (a)(3) as subsections (a)(2) and (a)(4), respectively; in subsection (a)(2) (as so redesignated) by striking “operation; or” and inserting “operation;”; by inserting before subsection (a)(2) (as so redesignated) the following new subsection (a)(1):
“(1) 16, if the offense involved an animal fighting venture, except as provided in subdivision (3) below;”;
and by inserting before subsection (a)(4) (as so redesignated) the following new subsection (a)(3):
“(3) 10, if the defendant was convicted under 7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(2)(B); or”.
The Commentary to §2E3.1 captioned “Statutory Provisions” is amended by inserting after “7 U.S.C. § 2156” the following: “(felony provisions only)”.
The Commentary to §2E3.1 captioned “Application Notes” is amended in Note 1 by striking “: ‘Animal” and inserting “, ‘animal”;
and in Note 2 by striking “If the offense involved extraordinary cruelty to an animal that resulted in, for example, maiming or death to an animal, an upward departure may be warranted.”, and inserting the following:
“The base offense levels provided for animal fighting ventures in subsection (a)(1) and (a)(3) reflect that an animal fighting venture involves one or more violent fights between animals and that a defeated animal often is severely injured in the fight, dies as a result of the fight, or is killed afterward. Nonetheless, there may be cases in which the offense level determined under this guideline substantially understates the seriousness of the offense. In such a case, an upward departure may be warranted. For example, an upward departure may be warranted if (A) the offense involved extraordinary cruelty to an animal beyond the violence inherent in such a venture (such as by killing an animal in a way that prolongs the suffering of the animal); or (B) the offense involved animal fighting on an exceptional scale (such as an offense involving an unusually large number of animals).”.
Appendix A (Statutory Index) is amended in the line referenced to 7 U.S.C. § 2156 by inserting after “§ 2156” the following: “(felony provisions only)”.
Reason for Amendment: This amendment responds to two legislative changes to the Animal Welfare Act (the “Act”) (codified at 7 U.S.C. § 2156) made by Congress in 2008 and 2014. First, in 2008, Congress amended the Act to increase the maximum term of imprisonment for offenses involving an animal fighting venture from three years to five years. See Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110–234, § 14207(b), 122 Stat. 1461, 1462 (May 22, 2008). Second, in 2014, Congress again amended the Act to create two new offenses – the offense of attending an animal fight and the offense of causing an individual under the age of 16 to attend an animal fight, with respective statutory maximum terms of imprisonment of one and three years. See Agricultural Act of 2014, Pub. L. 113–79, § 12308, 128 Stat. 990, 990 (Feb. 7, 2014).
The amendment makes several changes to §2E3.1 (Gambling Offenses, Animal Fighting Offenses) to account for these legislative actions. The amendment is informed by extensive public comment, recent case law, and analysis of Commission data regarding the current penalties for animal fighting offenses.
Higher Penalties for Animal Fighting Venture Offenses
First, the amendment increases the base offense level for offenses involving an animal fighting venture from 10 to 16. This change reflects the increase in the statutory maximum penalty from three to five years for offenses prohibited under 7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)–(e). See 18 U.S.C. § 49 (containing the criminal penalties for violations of section 2156). The Commission also determined that the increased base offense level better accounts for the cruelty and violence that is characteristic of these crimes, as reflected in the extensive public comment and testimony noting that a defeated animal is often severely injured or killed during or after a fight and that the animals used in these crimes are commonly exposed to inhumane living conditions or other forms of neglect.
In making this change, the Commission was also informed by data evidencing a high percentage of above range sentences in these cases. During fiscal years 2011 through 2014, almost one-third (31.0%) of the seventy-four offenders who received the base offense level of 10 under §2E3.1 received an above range sentence, compared to a national above range rate of 2.0 percent for all offenders. For those animal fighting offenders sentenced above the range, the average extent of the upward departure was more than twice the length of imprisonment at the high end of the guideline range, resulting in an average sentence of 18 months (and a median sentence of 16 months). Comparably, the amended base offense level will result in a guideline range of 12 to 18 months for the typical animal fighting venture offender who is in Criminal History Category I and receives a three-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility under §3E1.1 (Acceptance of Responsibility). Additionally, for offenders in the higher criminal history categories, the guideline range at base offense level 16 allows for applicable Chapter Three increases while remaining within the statutory maximum.
New Offenses Relating to Attending an Animal Fighting Venture
The amendment also establishes a base offense level of 10 in §2E3.1 if the defendant was convicted under section 2156(a)(2)(B) for causing an individual under 16 to attend an animal fighting venture. The Commission believes this level of punishment best reflects Congress’s intent in creating this new crime. A base offense level of 10 for this new offense will result in a guideline range (before acceptance of responsibility) of 6 to 12 months of imprisonment for offenders in Criminal History Category I, while allowing for a guideline range approaching the three-year statutory maximum for offenders in higher criminal history categories. The Commission also noted that assigning a base offense level of 10 is consistent with the policy decision made by the Commission when it assigned a base offense level of 10 to an animal fighting crime in 2008, which, at that time, also had a three-year statutory maximum penalty. See USSG App. C, amend. 721 (effective November 1, 2008).
Lastly, the amendment establishes a base offense level of 6 for the new class A misdemeanor of attending an animal fighting venture prohibited by section 2156(a)(2)(A) by including only the felony provisions of 7 U.S.C. §2156 in the Appendix A reference to §2E3.1. Consistent with other Class A misdemeanor offenses, this base offense level is established through application of §2X5.2 (Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)).
Departure Provision
The amendment also revises and expands the existing upward departure language in two ways.
First, the amendment clarifies the circumstances in which an upward departure for exceptional cruelty may be warranted. As reflected in the revised departure provision, the base offense levels provided for animal fighting ventures in subsections (a)(1) and (a)(3) reflect the fact that an animal fighting venture involves one or more violent fights between animals and that a defeated animal often is severely injured in the fight, dies as a result of the fight, or is killed afterward. The Commission heard testimony that in a typical dog fight, dogs puncture and tear at each other, until one animal is too injured to continue, and during a cock fight, roosters strike each other with their beaks and with sharp blades that have been strapped to their legs, suffering punctured lungs, broken bones, and pierced eyes. Nonetheless, as informed by public comment and testimony, the Commission’s study indicates that some animal fighting offenses involve extraordinary cruelty to an animal beyond that which is common to such crimes, such as killing an animal in a way that prolongs the suffering of the animal. The Commission determined that such extraordinary cruelty may fall outside the heartland of conduct encompassed by the base offense level for animal fighting ventures and, therefore, that an upward departure may be warranted in those cases.
Similarly, the amendment expands the existing departure provision to include offenses involving animal fighting on an exceptional scale (such as offenses involving an unusually large number of animals) as another example of conduct that may warrant an upward departure. As with the example of extraordinary cruelty, the Commission determined that the base offense level under the revised guideline may understate the seriousness of the offense in those cases.
Effective Date: The effective date of this amendment is November 1, 2016.