Parliament has passed a new law cracking down on animal cruelty that will list those convicted of bestiality on Canada’s national sex offenders registry.
Bill C-84 also changes wording in the Criminal Code to clarify that bestiality involves any contact for a sexual purpose between a person and an animal. The Code’s existing definition is understood to focus on penetration as the essential element in an act of bestiality.
When the bill was tabled in October 2018, the Department of Justice said the legislation aims to protect animals from violence and cruelty and to protect children and other vulnerable individuals who may be “compelled by another person to commit or witness sexual acts with animals.”
Animal Ethics Project 