DLW: A Hesitant Court – A Comment on the Canadian Judiciary’s Attitude Towards Bestiality
Generally, bestiality is a topic that one would normally avoid bringing up at dinner parties, in casual conversation or anywhere, really. Bestiality, which refers to a human engaging in sex with an animal, is a topic that is so unsavoury and so revolting, that even the mere mention of it normally elicits a look of horror from the most strong-stomached individual. It is no surprise that, historically, legislators, the judiciary, and the public have not been particularly keen t
Bestiality: A Discussion on DLW
The decision in DLW reflected the majority of the court not wanting to open the door to
new expansive animal rights law rather than truly believing that bestiality has always included penetration. Two major discussion points support this claim. First the major flaws in the majorities reasoning as pointed out in Abella’s dissent and second the analysis by Jochelson & Gacek of what it would have looked like if they had attempted a Labaye harm test for the offence of bestiality.
