Kentucky legislature makes sex with animals illegal to combat animal porn industry

The websites urge visitors to come to Kentucky for an unusual reason — have sex with animals without getting into trouble with the law.

One seeks to match people in Kentucky who are interested in bestiality. It promises to provide “how to’s and anything educational related to animal love.”

“Yes, they are out there but I hope this new law puts an end to them for Kentucky,” said state Sen. Julie Raque Adams, who researched the websites in her quest to create a state law that criminalizes sex with animals.

Adams, a Louisville Republican, successfully sponsored in this year’s law-making session a measure that criminalizes sex with non-human animals. It is awaiting a signature or veto by Gov. Matt Bevin, whose office did not respond to repeated requests seeking comment for this story.

If Bevin signs Senate Bill 67 into law, Kentucky will be among the last states to ban bestiality. It still is legal in West Virginia, Wyoming, New Mexico and Hawaii, as well as Washington, D.C.

Efforts to criminalize bestiality in Kentucky have fallen short in recent legislative sessions.

“It never got traction until this year,” said Adams, the Senate majority caucus chairwoman. “For some people, the resistance to it was private property rights. There was a fear that authorities could come onto their property, inspect their animals and possibly confiscate them. That was never true but it was a concern.”

Animal activist Tymory Stanton of Wilmore, who spoke out for the bill, said the issue of property rights was baseless.

“Just because you own your house doesn’t mean you can burn it down,” she said. “Just because you own an animal doesn’t mean you should be able to abuse it. They are living creatures.”

Under the bill, sexual contact with non-human creatures means any act committed between a person and an animal for the purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, abuse or financial gain. The act would involve oral, anal or vaginal sex.

A person would be guilty of sexual crimes against an animal if he or she has sexual contact with an animal, gains financially from subjecting the animal to sexual contact or assists another person to engage in sexual contact with an animal.

A sex crime against an animal could constitute a Class D felony, punishable by one to five years in prison.

The law would not apply to accepted veterinary practices, such as artificial insemination of an animal for reproductive purposes, and accepted animal husbandry practices, such as grooming and care for an animal.

If a person is convicted of bestiality, the court could order the violator to give up all his or her animals and not own or work in a place with animals for at least five years after completion of the imposed sentence. If the violator is not the owner of the animal that was abused, the animal shall be returned to its rightful owners.

The violator also must attend a treatment program or obtain counseling at his or her expense and reimburse the agency caring for the animal that was abused.

Leslie McBride of Shelby County, a member of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, has been pushing the bill for years.

“I’m so happy that this is finally happening in Kentucky,” she said. “People either don’t like to talk about it or they joke about it but it is a serious problem and it is out there.”

This is an “outstanding bill,” said Kathleen Wood, attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a national non-profit based in Cotati, Calif., that takes legal action to protect animals from harm. For more than a decade, it has listed Kentucky as the worst state in the nation for animal rights.

“Besides protecting the animal and penalizing the abuser, it addresses the well-being of the violator,” she said.

Bestiality is not a pleasant subject to discuss, said Wood, “but it must be addressed. Extensive studies show that there is a direct link between animal abuse and human abuse. It is a major problem since a large industry bankrolls it.”

Wood said she was talking about the animal pornography industry.

Adams said the industry is “out there and it’s more widespread than most people think, especially in videos.”

In April 2017, a Fleming County teacher was placed on leave after showing students a 5-minute YouTube video of people acting out sexual innuendo while dressed in animal costumes. A parent called it “animal pornography.”

Helping Adams sponsor the bill was Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown.

“This is one of those issues that took some time to educate people in Kentucky about,” said Thayer. “We finally got a bill that is specific and protects farmers. That is why it sailed through the legislature this year with no lawmaker voting against it.”