Human societies have established laws to regulate sexual acts between humans and nonhuman animals, or bestiality, beginning with the earliest recorded legal codes. This article summarizes the history of bestiality law, the current state of bestiality legislation in the United States, the body of Link-related literature on bestiality and interpersonal violence and other problematic sexual behaviors, and the empirical weaknesses and needs revealed by this legislation. The Link’s weaknesses can assist in guiding further research. Unfortunately, data supporting the Link between bestiality and interpersonal violence are limited and of questionable generalizability to the broad public. This concept, known as the Link, has served as a major motivation for advocates to promote new legislation criminalizing bestiality, to modernize old state statutes, and to expand penalties for individuals convicted of having sex with animals. Since the 1960′s, a growing body of literature has developed suggesting that individuals who harm animals may also interpersonally offend. have been outdated and vague and have utilized moralistic terminology. Until recently, however, many laws in the U.S. In the 1800′s, Henry Bergh imported the animal welfare approach to the United States, which modernized the legislative treatment of animals in the country. In the early American colonies, religious prohibitions against bestiality provided the grounds for punishing those who engaged in such acts. Societies have proscribed bestiality, or sex between humans and nonhuman animals, since the earliest recorded legal codes.

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