Bestiality Finally Illegal In Ohio

An Ohio law criminalizing bestiality finally went into effect March 21. As incredible as it may seem, the Buckeye State was one of the only stragglers in the US to not have a law explicitly outlawing bestiality, until the Ohio Congress passed a law in December 2016 banning the act.

In the jam-packed, topic-wide Senate Bill 331, the penalties for bestiality were finally laid out. Specifically, the bill says it is designed to, "prohibit a person from engaging in sexual conduct with an animal and related acts, to provide for the seizure and impoundment of an animal that is the subject of a violation, and to authorize a sentencing court to require an offender to undergo psychological evaluation or counseling..."

One of the reasons Ohio has lagged behind the rest of the nation in banning bestiality is that bills prohibiting the act have usually been combined with other legislative acts. Even Senate Bill 331 is loaded with other laws, like granting private employers sole authority over setting working hours, and prohibiting political subdivisions from establishing minimum wages that are different than the rate set out by state law.

The Michigan State University Animal Center says that 42 states currently have laws prohibiting bestiality, including new-addition Ohio. The eight states that do not have laws banning the act are Hawaii, Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.

Senate Bill 331 was originally introduced by Ohio Senator Bob Peterson, Republican for District 17. Peterson's office did not immediately return a request for comment from Patch.

You can find the full text of Senate Bill 331 here.

NBC4 in Columbus reported that the law went into effect Tuesday.

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