Help animals get an early start on the 2011 legislative session
December 9th, 2010 by admin
The 2011 Legislative Session officially convenes on March 8, 2011, but now is the time when legislators choose what bills to support. ARFF is hopeful that 2011 will be the year that Florida legislators finally enact a ban on sexual contact with animals.
Recently, there have been disturbing reminders of why it is necessary to update Florida law and prohibit the sexual abuse of animals. In late November a man in the City of Milton was arrested after admitting to committing sexual acts with two dogs. In August a man was arrested in the Town of Havana after police said he sexually assaulted a horse. Although both men have been charged with animal cruelty, bestiality is not expressly outlawed in Florida.
State Senator Nan Rich has said that she will reintroduce a bill to make bestiality a crime in 2011. Currently there is not a sponsor of the bill in the Florida House of Representatives.
Please contact your state representative and ask that they co-sponsor and/or support legislation to outlaw bestiality in Florida. If passed Florida would join the majority of U.S. states that have taken a proactive approach to protecting animals from sexual predation. To find your representative, visit myFloridaHouse.gov and click the “Find Your Representative” button.