Kentucky was right to outlaw bestiality. Other states must follow suit
This week Gov. Matt Bevin signed a bill to outlaw bestiality in the Bluegrass State, and the animal protection world applauds he and Republican State Sens. Julie Raque Adams, Danny Carroll, Dan Seum, Paul Hornback and Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer who joined in a bipartisan effort with Democrat Sens. Morgan McGarvey, and Denise Harper Angel to usher Senate Bill 67 through the state Senate by unanimous consent a few weeks ago.
Even Sen. Robin Webb, an outspoken critic of animal protection measures of most any kind, voted for the legislation to end this heinous practice in the commonwealth — one of five states in the nation where this perversion remained legal.
I traveled to Kentucky a few years ago to meet with Thayer, the Kentucky Farm Bureau and religious leaders in the commonwealth to advocate for legislation that would finally bring an end to bestiality in Kentucky, and SB 67 is a result of those early discussions. Individuals who participate in bestiality and other heinous crimes against animals have been proven to later go on and become sex offenders and abusers of humans, and we must make every effort to catch these predators and end such abuse upstream.
Among its many ills, bestiality is associated with child pornography and other sexual crimes against humans. During the course of child exploitation investigations, for example, detectives commonly find sexual predators in possession of materials depicting bestiality. In fact, a study from the University of Tennessee determined that human sex offenders were eight times more likely than the general population to have a history of bestiality.
Read more: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2019/03/28/outlawing-sex-animals-important-step-kentucky/3297111002/