Sexual contact between a human and an animal, criminalized in most jurisdictions on grounds of animal welfare, public morality, or both, with a substantial number of countries treating it as a distinct statutory offense separate from general animal cruelty law. Legal treatment and terminology vary considerably: some jurisdictions use the older common law term buggery to encompass the offense alongside other proscribed sexual acts, and a number of jurisdictions have only enacted specific bestiality statutes in the twenty first century after gaps in existing animal cruelty and sexual offense law were identified.
Facts
Typical PenaltyUp to seven years' imprisonment under Section 143 of the Crimes Act 1961 (New Zealand) 2 Jurisdiction VariationSome laws name the prohibited acts specifically while others use vague terms such as sodomy or bestiality, leaving unclear exactly which acts are covered 2 Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 Sources
1. Bestiality (Wikipedia)
Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestiality, lead paragraphQuote, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestiality, lead paragraph
Bestiality refers to cross-species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals.
2. Bestiality (Wikipedia)
Legal status, New Zealand Crimes Act 1961
Under Section 143 of the Crimes Act 1961, individuals can serve a sentence of seven years duration for animal sexual abuse and the offence is considered "complete" in the event of "penetration".
Legal status, statutory terminology
While some laws are very specific, others employ vague terms such as "sodomy" or "bestiality", which lack legal precision and leave it unclear exactly which acts are covered.
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