A Beastly Provision: Why the Offence of ‘Intercourse with an Animal’ Must Be Butchered

Abstract

This article examines the offence of ‘Intercourse with an animal’ in s.69 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. It asks whether s. 69 is compatible with liberal justifications for criminalising such behaviour and questions if the way in which the offence is constructed is defensible. Arguments grounded in the concepts of autonomy, consent and rights are rendered irrelevant when placed against the context of the use of animals by humans more generally. Concurrently, limiting the offence to penile penetration draws an illogical line, excluding harmful and sexually deviant behaviour from the ambit of the offence. Consequently, it is argued that the offence needs to be reconsidered by the legislature in order to achieve a more consistent, principled and rationally defensible approach to interspecies sexual acts.