After a tough two-year campaign, this week, Bill 06/24S – 466/25C has passed its final committee stage in Colombia’s House of Representatives, making sex acts with animals and the online distribution of videos of such abuse a criminal offence. 

Importantly, amendments secured by the ADI Colombia team were approved – to increase prison sentences and fines for these sickening offences. In addition to the acts of cruelty, prison sentences will be imposed on those profiting from the abuse, recording and disseminating pornographic videos of these perverted acts online, profiting from cruelty, and repeating a cruel act with the same animal. The law supports an education and awareness campaign to prevent such behaviour, and for people to report such abuse.

The bill will now be reconciled in Congress and then go for Presidential approval, with ADI’s team in Colombia confident it will become law.

A huge thank you to Senator Esmeralda Hernández, the bill’s principal author, sponsors, Senator Germán Blanco and Iván Cepeda and Representatives Gabriel Becerra, and Juan Carlos Losada, the members of Congress who supported this initiative and, of course our ADI team in Colombia led by Yani Mateus and Eduardo Peña.

We have seen how the internet and social media has opened a door to dark human depravity, from pornographic videos of animals being sexually abused to the revolting cruelty videos where people pay to watch monkeys, kittens and other animals tortured. ADI is campaigning to pressurise social media companies to take responsibility to prevent these videos being broadcast.

We have also seen the rise of the demand for trophy pets as people parade lion and tiger cubs online, only to discard them when they become difficult to manage – and ADI then picks up the pieces, as these animals are abandoned.

The social media companies have much to answer for – allowing the growth of an industry of fake rescues, where animals are put in danger, terrified, and then ‘saved’, and now, even created using AI tools. These cruelties and depiction of cruelty encourage cruelty, while also pushing real rescues, like ADI rescues, off the tops of feeds.

We have made huge progress fighting the abuse of animals for entertainment exposing the behind-the-scenes cruelty of circuses and animal trainers for movies. We have gained bans on animal circuses all over the world, driven most live animal use out of the movie industry, and secured prohibitions of cruel bull runs and bullfighting – but social media is a whole new challenge. 

In a world where so much has moved online, we must take that on.

We celebrate a huge victory this week, but we know there is more to do. Will you help us fight back for the animals?  Please donate here UK £, Euros, Rand | US $, CA $