Animal rights groups upset sexual abuse bill not scheduled
by WISC-TV
MADISON, Wis. - Animal rights activists are fired up after a bill that would increase the penalty for people found guilty of having sexual contact with animals wasn't scheduled on Tuesday's state Senate calendar.
"It's really crushing to be this close and to not get across the finish line," said Melissa Tedrowe, the Wisconsin state director for Humane Society of the United States.
The bi-partisan measure passed through the state Assembly and the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety. The bill's authors said they were disappointed that it did not get scheduled for a vote in the full Senate.
"I did everything within my power," said Rep. Andre Jacque. "But at the end of the day, it still didn't happen."
Jacque said he knows people are "revolted" by the subject of bestiality, but the bill would have closed a loophole in abusers not being held accountable for their crimes.
"Pets are used as an element of control," he said. “(This crime) exists in the dark corner of the internet like human trafficking."
But it's not just happening in dark corners. Tedrowe and others who work closely with animals have said thousands of people in Wisconsin engage in this activity.
"There's a dog in Sun Prairie, which is a 9-month-old Huskie, that was so viciously raped it required vaginal and rectal surgery to repair the damage," said Dan Antolec, who owns Happy Buddha Dog Training based near Brooklyn.
Antolec has been training dogs for several years and has studied their behavior as well as the way humans treat them.
"The link with animal abuse and abuse of humans really struck a chord with me," Antolec said.
Studies have shown animal abuse can be an indicator of a number of other crimes, including domestic violence, child sexual assault or even mass killings.
Under current law, sexual contact with an animal is a misdemeanor. Jacque's bill would have made the crime a felony, which is a distinction law enforcement and animal rights advocates have said would make a difference.
"A felony conviction prevents sex offenders from engaging in certain state licensed programs such as being a foster parent, operating a day care, or driving a school bus, all contexts involving unsupervised access to children," Tedrowe said in a testimony she gave during a committee hearing.
A felony charge also gives employers, including veterinarians and animal shelters, the ability to prevent people from working there.
The bill also would make it a felony to transport an animal for the purpose of sexual abuse or coerce a child into having sexual contact with an animal.
Sen. Scott Fitzgerald's office had not responded to our inquiry about why the bill had not been scheduled, as of Wednesday evening.