Vets urged to support animal sex abuse law change campaign

A vet has urged fellow clinicians to back his campaign to change the law regarding animal sex abuse.

Dave Martin, a trustee of the Links Group, which works to raise awareness of the link between abuse of animals and people, has helped bring forward a proposal to amend legislation that would establish a clear definition of animal sex abuse and ensure all sexual activity inflicted on an animal becomes a criminal offence.

However, Dr Martin said the amendment to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 would not prevent perpetrators from keeping animals in the future or re-offending.

With the bill set to return to the House of Commons on 14 April, where final amendments can still be made, he is urging veterinary professionals to contact their MPs to support stronger measures being introduced.

‘Doesn’t go far enough’

The group animal welfare director at IVC Evidensia said in an accompanying video: “The problem is the amendment doesn’t go far enough.

“When someone is convicted of these horrible things, the courts won’t, at the moment, have the powers to prevent them doing it again.

“We can’t take the animals off them that they’ve been abusing, and we can’t stop them having animals again in the future.”

He continued: “We need people to write to their MP and make sure that they put pressure on the Government to bring forward this second part of the amendment, to allow the courts to have the powers not only to convict people but actually do something about it once they’ve convicted people.”

IVC, which has joined Dr Martin in calling on colleagues and those across the profession to back the campaign, has provided a letter template for people to contact their MP on its website.