TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Senate has recognized a link between animal abuse and child abuse by unanimously passing a bill that would increase penalties for bestiality.
The bill passed Thursday would also create a new law banning pornography depicting people having sex with animals. Bestiality would be raised from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony.
Anyone convicted of either offense could face up to five years in prison and be banned from owning an animal or working at a place where animals are present.
The bill would also require child protective investigators to report suspected cases of animal abuse. Animal control officers would also have to immediately report suspected child abuse.
A law criminalizing bestiality wasn't passed in Florida until 2011, according to CBS Miami.
You can read the full bill passed by the Senate Thursday here:
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