Sex with animals is not illegal in Ohio but it could soon change

Two senators are trying to introduce a bill that could put a stop to people having sex with animals in the US state of Ohio, where it is not illegal as of now. In the US, there is no anti-bestiality law in 11 states, including Ohio.

The bill when introduced will prohibit people from buying and selling animals for the purpose of sex. Senators Jim Hughes and Jay Hottinger are trying to introduce the bill to stop bestiality.

Executive director for the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, John Murphy, said the bill needs to be more specific in including sexual conduct as a crime, even though a law already exists for punishing those people who are cruel towards animals.

"The existing animal cruelty statutes would not apply to all acts outlawed by this bill," Murphy was quoted as saying by WCPO Cincinnati. "This is especially true if there is no known harm to the animal," Murphy added.

"I realised that much like those in our society who choose to abuse children, those who sexually abuse animals lack any semblance of a moral compass; they lack any sense of sexual boundaries," Fairfax County Police detective Jeremy Hoffman said.

Sergeant Dan Johnson said the Franklin County Sheriff's Office has recognised a connection between "bestiality and child pornography" in the last six years of its investigations. "Approximately 50% of individuals who possessed child pornography also possessed images and videos involving sex acts between animals and humans," Johnson said.

"Animal abuse may be among the earliest signs of a conduct disorder and of the need for mental health intervention," David Hejmanowski, a judge with the Delaware County Probate and Juvenile Court, said.

The bill when it becomes a law would treat bestiality as a misdemeanour, while the courts will have the power to forfeit the animal and send the person accused of bestiality away for psychological evaluation or counselling.

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