0:00:00.260,0:00:06.300 Bestiality is a topic so taboo, the word alone[br]is enough to elicit reactions ranging from 0:00:06.300,0:00:10.610 discomfort and disgust to moral outrage and[br]ethical condemnation. 0:00:10.610,0:00:15.450 Despite its relevancy within a wide range[br]of fields, bestiality is largely absent from 0:00:15.450,0:00:16.980 public discourse. 0:00:16.980,0:00:23.180 But what if these much-reviled acts aren’t[br]some rare perversion of human sexuality relegated 0:00:23.180,0:00:28.820 to the darkest corners of the Internet, but[br]actually common everyday practices supported 0:00:28.820,0:00:31.720 and enjoyed by the vast majority of society. 0:00:36.140,0:00:40.060 Hi it's Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome[br]to another vegan nugget. 0:00:40.079,0:00:45.210 The definition of the term “bestiality”[br](or bestiality, for any non-Americans wishing 0:00:45.210,0:00:50.409 to pronounce it as it’s actually spelled)[br]has evolved overtime, from its origins signifying 0:00:50.409,0:00:56.239 depraved conduct befitting an animal, to the[br]modern denotation of “sexual relations between 0:00:56.239,0:00:57.499 humans and animals.” 0:00:57.499,0:01:01.869 I wanted to note that for the sake of clarity[br]and expediency, I will mostly be using the 0:01:01.869,0:01:07.030 term “animal” in place of the more accurate[br]“non-human animal,” a decidedly awkward 0:01:07.030,0:01:12.280 afterthought attempting to rectify a false[br]division addressed in this very video! 0:01:12.280,0:01:17.570 And rest assured, I won’t be showing any[br]images or depictions of bestiality today…which 0:01:17.570,0:01:21.880 probably cost me a couple viewers… 0:01:21.880,0:01:28.000 Additionally, you can find detailed citations[br]to everything I state, as well as a bibliography 0:01:28.000,0:01:31.880 and loads of additional resources and things[br]I didn’t have time to fit in this video 0:01:31.880,0:01:34.730 on the blog post linked in the description[br]below. 0:01:34.730,0:01:39.720 With that out of the way, time to take on[br]this timeless taboo! 0:01:39.720,0:01:44.600 Bestiality may seem like a pretty black and[br]white matter: sex with animals is wrong, end 0:01:44.600,0:01:45.600 of story. 0:01:45.600,0:01:49.840 But such a quick dismissal, hastened no doubt[br]by the discomfort of the subject, neglects 0:01:49.840,0:01:54.430 to account for the cultural permeation of[br]bestiality throughout history and our everyday 0:01:54.430,0:01:55.430 lives. 0:01:55.430,0:02:00.140 Ancient mythology is rife with gods taking[br]the form of animals in order to copulate with 0:02:00.140,0:02:05.040 humans, among many other bestial themes we[br]readily teach children in middle school. 0:02:05.040,0:02:09.769 But were a teacher to hand out a story involving[br]sex between humans and animals written in 0:02:09.769,0:02:15.459 the modern-day, suddenly a cultured appreciation[br]of the Classics would become a potentially 0:02:15.459,0:02:18.730 criminal distribution of pornography. 0:02:18.730,0:02:24.379 And while many states in America have strictly-enforced[br]laws against as much as photographing a child 0:02:24.379,0:02:30.359 posed with an animal in even a remotely suggestive[br]manner, kids in America’s farmland can participate 0:02:30.359,0:02:35.670 in wholesome afterschool programs with lessons[br]in boar semen management, and how to sexually 0:02:35.670,0:02:38.790 stimulate a pig. 0:02:38.790,0:02:44.410 If we attempt to evaluate these examples objectively,[br]which the subject matter admittedly makes 0:02:44.410,0:02:49.959 challenging if not impossible, the division[br]between the educational and the immoral or 0:02:49.959,0:02:54.140 criminal becomes largely a matter of cultural[br]context. 0:02:54.140,0:03:00.420 Which begs the question: what, exactly, is[br]so bad about bestiality? 0:03:00.420,0:03:03.163 Criminologist Piers Beirne points to the Mosaic[br]commandments (Exodus 22:19, Leviticus 18:23 0:03:03.163,0:03:05.779 and 20:15-16, and Deuteronomy 27:21) as “the[br]earliest and most influential justification 0:03:05.779,0:03:10.700 for censures of bestiality,” with “the[br]prescribed penalty [of[ death.” 0:03:10.700,0:03:15.999 Remnants of this moral origin are evidenced[br]in the language of some of today’s secular 0:03:15.999,0:03:20.930 legislation, with several states in America,[br]for example, retaining terminology such as, 0:03:20.930,0:03:27.209 "crime against nature," "unnatural," "perverted,"[br]"abominable," "detestable" and, my favorite, 0:03:27.209,0:03:28.790 "buggery." 0:03:28.790,0:03:34.419 Astoundingly enough, bestiality remained punishable[br]by death throughout the early modern period, 0:03:34.419,0:03:41.430 with Sweden executing up to 700 people between[br]1635 and 1778, along with the non-human animals 0:03:41.430,0:03:46.260 involved, and the last known hanging for bestiality[br]in the United States carried out by order 0:03:46.260,0:03:50.650 of The Connecticut Superior Court in January[br]of 1800. 0:03:50.650,0:03:55.049 Given it’s even pre-biblical censure, it[br]may be surprising to hear that many countries 0:03:55.049,0:04:00.810 still lack any laws addressing sexual contact[br]between humans and animals. 0:04:00.810,0:04:05.739 In 2015, Denmark was the last northern European[br]country to ban bestiality, leaving Finland, 0:04:05.739,0:04:09.560 Romania and Hungary as the only holdouts in[br]the European Union. 0:04:09.560,0:04:14.530 In the United States, bestiality remains legal[br]in at least eight states, and Washington D.C., 0:04:14.530,0:04:21.260 with about seventeen of the remaining 42 having[br]only enacted legislation since 1999—though 0:04:21.260,0:04:25.970 technically Ohio’s brand new legislation[br]signed just last month still won’t take 0:04:25.970,0:04:32.140 effect until March of this year…and only[br]included a ban on bestiality as a way to pass 0:04:32.140,0:04:33.470 an unpopular bill. 0:04:33.470,0:04:34.900 (Will ideally list the states and date enacted[br]onscreen) 0:04:34.900,0:04:37.770 Yay, moral integrity… 0:04:37.770,0:04:42.870 Of the states with laws already enacted, penalties[br]and sentencing range from a misdemeanor with 0:04:42.870,0:04:49.341 no set minimum (Nebraska) to a felony with[br]imprisonment of no less than 7 and up to 20 0:04:49.341,0:04:50.720 years (Rhode Island). 0:04:50.720,0:04:55.530 The modern resurgence of legislation has revealed[br]a shift in the conceptualization and legal 0:04:55.530,0:05:00.661 classification of bestiality from “a crime[br]against public morals,” to an act of animal 0:05:00.661,0:05:06.060 cruelty, with California and Oregon even going[br]so far as to call it “sexual assault of 0:05:06.060,0:05:07.060 an animal.” 0:05:07.060,0:05:12.180 Attorney Rebecca F. Wisch of the Animal Legal[br]& Historical Center proposes that this terminology 0:05:12.180,0:05:17.040 “may reflect these states' assessment that[br]animals are incapable of consenting,” essentially 0:05:17.040,0:05:20.810 granting non-human animals “victim” status. 0:05:20.810,0:05:25.870 With the extreme variation from state to state[br](much less country to country!) of not only 0:05:25.870,0:05:31.660 the criminal classification of and penalty[br]for bestiality, but also the very definition 0:05:31.660,0:05:36.790 of what the act entails, we’re once again[br]left with the question of what precisely makes 0:05:36.790,0:05:39.250 bestiality so objectionable. 0:05:39.250,0:05:44.490 All bestiality legislation includes exceptions[br]for accepted animal industry practices. 0:05:44.490,0:05:50.090 So by eliminating any permissible actions,[br]we can hopefully hone in on the root wrong 0:05:50.090,0:05:51.090 of bestiality. 0:05:51.090,0:05:55.800 Why don’t we start with the rather inadequate[br]parameters of what was traditionally considered 0:05:55.800,0:05:59.940 the legal benchmark for sexual violation:[br]penetration. 0:05:59.940,0:06:05.460 This may appear to offer a clear-cut line[br]in the sand, until we consider the long list 0:06:05.460,0:06:10.800 of farming practices, not to mention animal[br]experimentation and fur “harvesting” methods 0:06:10.800,0:06:12.700 involving penetration. 0:06:12.700,0:06:17.540 So if penetration itself isn’t the issue,[br]what about harmful penetration? 0:06:17.540,0:06:22.680 That can’t be the issue either, as animal[br]experimentation and fur harvesting and common 0:06:22.680,0:06:26.370 farming practices involving penetration can[br]and do cause harm. 0:06:26.370,0:06:30.710 Animals in the fur industry are routinely[br]killed via genital and anal electrocution. 0:06:30.710,0:06:36.400 And we don’t even have time to list all[br]of the bizarre manners in which animal experimentation 0:06:36.400,0:06:42.480 in various fields of research involves an[br]infinite array of harmful and painful penetration. 0:06:42.480,0:06:46.470 Even in the food industry, for example, the[br]vast majority of farmed animals today are 0:06:46.470,0:06:49.030 bred via artificial insemination. 0:06:49.030,0:06:53.460 Cows in the dairy industry are repeatedly[br]impregnated through AI in order to maintain 0:06:53.460,0:06:55.160 the flow of milk for human consumption. 0:06:55.160,0:06:59.500 Like us, they only produce milk for their[br]babies, who are taken from their mothers immediately 0:06:59.500,0:07:00.660 after birth. 0:07:00.660,0:07:04.580 Females are kept as future milk producers[br]and males are either sent to a veal farm or 0:07:04.580,0:07:05.580 shot. 0:07:05.580,0:07:09.490 Aside from the psychological and emotional[br]impact of having their babies taken time and 0:07:09.490,0:07:14.410 again, the insemination process itself can[br]be physically damaging, especially when considering 0:07:14.410,0:07:17.010 that most inseminations are performed by non-veterinarians. 0:07:17.010,0:07:23.210 Since AI training involves practicing on live[br]cows, some courses are held at slaughterhouses, 0:07:23.210,0:07:28.490 though one UK vet advised that “novice inseminators[br]should not practice on cows unless they are 0:07:28.490,0:07:30.520 to be slaughtered on the training day.” 0:07:30.520,0:07:35.610 Perhaps the objectionable element separating[br]routine farming practices from bestiality 0:07:35.610,0:07:38.680 is the deliberate use of force during penetration? 0:07:38.680,0:07:43.320 For this I turn to author Jim Mason’s account[br]of his time working in a turkey breeding facility 0:07:43.320,0:07:45.790 as he describes standard industry practice: 0:07:45.790,0:07:49.910 “They put me to work first in the pit, grabbing[br]and "breaking" hens… 0:07:49.910,0:07:52.030 Breaking hens was hard, fast, dirty work. 0:07:52.030,0:07:56.420 I had to reach into the chute, grab a hen[br]by the legs, and hold her, ankles crossed, 0:07:56.420,0:07:57.420 in one hand. 0:07:57.420,0:08:00.980 Then, as I held her on the edge of the pit,[br]I wiped my other hand over her rear, which 0:08:00.980,0:08:03.970 pushed up her tail feathers and exposed her[br]vent opening. 0:08:03.970,0:08:08.800 The birds weighed 20 to 30 lbs., were terrified,[br]and beat their wings and struggled in panic… 0:08:08.800,0:08:13.230 With the hen thus "broken," the inseminator[br]stuck his thumb right under her vent and pushed, 0:08:13.230,0:08:14.350 which opened the vent… 0:08:14.350,0:08:16.500 Into this, he inserted the semen tube... 0:08:16.500,0:08:20.030 Then both men let go and the hen flopped away[br]onto the house floor. 0:08:20.030,0:08:24.350 Two breakers did 10 hens a minute, or each[br]breaker broke 5 hens a minute — one hen 0:08:24.350,0:08:26.300 every 12 seconds.” 0:08:26.300,0:08:31.340 In the pig meat industry, piglets are the[br]product, so mother pigs, much like dairy cows, 0:08:31.340,0:08:34.060 are subjected to a constant cycle of pregnancies. 0:08:34.060,0:08:39.160 Even in the EU, where tethering stalls in[br]which pigs were chained in place were outlawed, 0:08:39.160,0:08:44.029 artificial insemination is one of a number[br]of built-in exceptions wherein pigs may legally 0:08:44.029,0:08:45.029 be chained in place. 0:08:45.029,0:08:50.529 So, if forceful penetration of an animal’s[br]vagina, anus, or cloaca resulting in physical 0:08:50.529,0:08:56.430 and/or psychological harm and eliciting clear[br]signs of distress is not what’s objectionable, 0:08:56.430,0:09:03.060 maybe it’s when the action performed upon[br]an animal is itself overtly sexual, not just 0:09:03.060,0:09:05.420 the body part(s) involved. 0:09:05.420,0:09:06.620 Take the following account: 0:09:06.620,0:09:11.330 “Each boar had his own little perversion[br]the man had to do to get the boar turned on… 0:09:11.330,0:09:14.770 He might have to hold the boar’s penis in[br]exactly the right way that the boar liked, 0:09:14.770,0:09:17.650 and he had to masturbate some of them in exactly[br]the right way. 0:09:17.650,0:09:20.690 There was one boar, he told me, who wanted[br]to have his butt hole played with. 0:09:20.690,0:09:24.560 “I have to stick my finger in his butt,[br]he just really loves that,” he told me….he’s 0:09:24.560,0:09:27.040 one of the best in the business.” 0:09:27.040,0:09:32.380 Without context where would you place this[br]on the line between the pornographic and permissible? 0:09:32.380,0:09:36.130 Would your answer change if I told you the[br]passage was written by an internationally 0:09:36.130,0:09:40.870 renowned and well-respected specialist in[br]livestock handling and animal welfare? 0:09:40.870,0:09:44.120 If so, what changed about the account itself? 0:09:44.120,0:09:48.610 That excerpt comes from Dr. Temple Grandin’s[br]book, “Animals in Translation,” wherein 0:09:48.610,0:09:52.730 she’s described in the “about” section[br]as “a role model for hundreds of thousands 0:09:52.730,0:09:54.430 of families and people.” 0:09:54.430,0:09:59.771 Grandin continues her tour of porcine breeding[br]practices, describing how unlike cows, female 0:09:59.771,0:10:04.880 pigs have to be sexually excited in order[br]to conceive—so workers must manually arouse 0:10:04.880,0:10:07.770 them prior to insemination. 0:10:07.770,0:10:13.880 Okay…if the highly individualized, manual[br]masturbation of male pigs to completion and 0:10:13.880,0:10:19.710 sexual stimulation of females prior to the[br]insertion of boar semen are acts openly recounted 0:10:19.710,0:10:25.500 by a respected professor and role model to[br]families, I fear our common sense assessment 0:10:25.500,0:10:28.600 may be an exercise in futility. 0:10:28.600,0:10:32.830 Especially when we take into account semen[br]collection methods for bulls, namely the use 0:10:32.830,0:10:37.170 of an artificial vagina, electroejaculation,[br]or transrectal massage. 0:10:37.170,0:10:41.140 The first method often uses a “teaser”[br]bull, “usually a specimen of low breeding 0:10:41.140,0:10:45.660 value,” who is retrained—sometimes painfully[br]via a ring through his nose—and functions 0:10:45.660,0:10:49.560 as the “mount” for the “donor” bull,[br]since the force can injure females. 0:10:49.560,0:10:54.690 The most troubling technique, electroejaculation,[br]involves inserting a probe into the bull’s 0:10:54.690,0:10:57.920 anus and delivering electric shocks to stimulate[br]ejaculation. 0:10:57.920,0:11:02.380 It’s widely known to be painful and has[br]been banned in some EU countries. 0:11:02.380,0:11:07.800 Yet you can watch footage of electroejaculation[br]on the Irish Farm Journal’s YouTube channel, 0:11:07.800,0:11:13.570 as well as—across the platform–hundreds[br]of semen procurement and insemination videos, 0:11:13.570,0:11:19.730 including how to sexual excite a female pig,[br]a topic covered in-depth in the youth education 0:11:19.730,0:11:22.520 resources of the Pork Checkoff program. 0:11:22.520,0:11:27.610 In my video “Do Animals Want to Be Eaten,”[br]I provide examples of the sexualized portrayal 0:11:27.610,0:11:32.580 of animals in advertising, often seducing[br]the would-be consumers of their carcass. 0:11:32.580,0:11:38.010 Even mainstream television shows feature footage[br]that, were the context even slightly altered, 0:11:38.010,0:11:42.740 could result in the network losing its license[br]and inviting a wave of lawsuits. 0:11:42.740,0:11:48.839 As a quick personal aside, I find the fact[br]that YouTube’s wide array borderline bestiality 0:11:48.839,0:11:54.390 videos remain unrestricted and even monetized,[br]yet the video of one of my speeches remains 0:11:54.390,0:12:00.510 age-restricted, despite it’s censure violating[br]YouTube’s own polices, just the slightest 0:12:00.510,0:12:01.510 bit frustrating… 0:12:01.510,0:12:02.510 Moving on… 0:12:02.510,0:12:07.899 I have to say, I think our comparative evaluation[br]has hit a dead end. 0:12:07.899,0:12:11.900 The only element we’ve yet to assess, is[br]the intention and experience of the human 0:12:11.900,0:12:13.120 committing the act. 0:12:13.120,0:12:17.839 This is the determining factor in several[br]state bestiality laws, like Delaware’s, 0:12:17.839,0:12:21.720 which specifies the contact be “for purposes[br]of sexual gratification.” 0:12:21.720,0:12:26.660 But if that’s really the root of our objection[br]to bestiality, then we’ve essentially gone 0:12:26.660,0:12:31.740 full-circle to the original moral basis for[br]its censure, despite the modern shift towards 0:12:31.740,0:12:36.330 animal cruelty classification, and establishment[br]of animals as victims. 0:12:36.330,0:12:40.440 How exactly does the intention of the person[br]involved, or whether the act is part of their 0:12:40.440,0:12:45.660 job description, or carried out in a medical[br]context, help the individual being violated? 0:12:45.660,0:12:50.350 I would imagine that someone’s job title[br]would be of little comfort to the cow restrained 0:12:50.350,0:12:53.420 and forcefully penetrated for her next round[br]of heartbreak. 0:12:53.420,0:12:58.089 And the enjoyment or lack thereof derived[br]by the worker operating the anal probe wouldn’t 0:12:58.089,0:13:03.120 do much to dull the painful electric current[br]shocking a bull’s pelvic nerves. 0:13:03.120,0:13:08.640 Such absurdities are the result of our arbitrary[br]shifting of animals from property to family 0:13:08.640,0:13:11.930 to victim to profit margin, depending on our[br]needs. 0:13:11.930,0:13:17.710 And as their roles shift, so too do the kinds[br]of harms we may inflict upon them. 0:13:17.710,0:13:22.740 In her response to philosopher Peter Singer’s[br]controversial book review essay Heavy Petting, 0:13:22.740,0:13:27.790 Dr. Karen Davis of United Poultry Concerns[br]addresses this progressive commodification: 0:13:27.790,0:13:32.810 “Historically, animal agriculture has facilitated[br]bestiality, not simply because of the proximity 0:13:32.810,0:13:37.570 of farmed animals, but because controlling[br]other creatures' bodies invites this extension 0:13:37.570,0:13:40.360 of a license that has already been taken.” 0:13:40.360,0:13:44.870 In one of the unfortunately numerous cases[br]of extreme sexual abuse of animals within 0:13:44.870,0:13:49.339 the food industry that fall so far outside[br]of the prescribed norms they lead to criminal 0:13:49.339,0:13:53.750 charges, undercover footage and detailed notes[br]from the investigators showed routine abuse 0:13:53.750,0:13:57.870 at a pig breeding facility in Iowa, where[br]thousands of mother pigs are kept in cramped 0:13:57.870,0:13:59.580 gestation crates. 0:13:59.580,0:14:04.020 Workers beat pregnant pigs with blunt metal[br]objects, kicked them in the stomach and head, 0:14:04.020,0:14:08.400 forced rods into their vaginas and anuses,[br]and attacked lame and injured pigs with an 0:14:08.400,0:14:10.740 electric prod, among other offenses. 0:14:10.740,0:14:14.770 The video also captured workers cutting off[br]the tails and tearing out the testicles of 0:14:14.770,0:14:18.470 piglets, “including some with…scrotal[br]hernias, whose intestines would fully protrude 0:14:18.470,0:14:20.790 when snipped”—all without any anesthetic. 0:14:20.790,0:14:25.290 And, in one of the most-cited offenses by[br]the media, workers were shown slamming sick 0:14:25.290,0:14:30.660 or deformed piglets against the ground, leaving[br]them, according investigators, to die slowly, 0:14:30.660,0:14:35.260 their “skull[s]-crushed, paddling their[br]legs and twitching, gasping for air, as others 0:14:35.260,0:14:37.700 were piled on top of them in giant bins.” 0:14:37.700,0:14:42.410 An article on NBC News includes comments from[br]none other than Temple Grandin, described 0:14:42.410,0:14:46.330 as “a leading animal-welfare expert,”[br]who “said that while those are standard 0:14:46.330,0:14:51.300 industry practices, the treatment of the sows[br]on the video was far from it,” calling it 0:14:51.300,0:14:53.350 “atrocious animal abuse.” 0:14:53.350,0:14:58.090 Just to clarify, in case it wasn’t obvious,[br]beating and violating the mother pigs was 0:14:58.090,0:14:59.940 the “atrocious animal abuse.” 0:14:59.940,0:15:05.370 The “standard industry practices” Grandin[br]refers to are the unanaesthetized mutilation 0:15:05.370,0:15:10.860 of newborn piglets and brutal slamming of[br]“defective” babies against concrete. 0:15:10.860,0:15:15.040 Not only are these practices legal, they are[br]government-sanctioned methods within, but 0:15:15.040,0:15:19.460 not limited to, the United States, Canada,[br]and European Union. 0:15:19.460,0:15:24.450 See, that's the great thing about standard[br]practices—I don't know about you, but if 0:15:24.450,0:15:29.440 I was shown that video and asked what was[br]abuse and what was routine, I’d have gotten 0:15:29.440,0:15:32.589 it totally wrong! 0:15:32.589,0:15:38.170 When it comes to our relationships with non-human[br]animals, we posses a remarkable level of cognitive 0:15:38.170,0:15:41.240 dissonance complete with ample blind spots. 0:15:41.240,0:15:46.649 One need only observe how we designate individuals[br]as “friend or food,” by such arbitrary 0:15:46.649,0:15:50.810 factors as geographical location or possession[br]of a human-given name. 0:15:50.810,0:15:54.959 In one country, a dog is viewed as a “pet”—even[br]a family member. 0:15:54.959,0:15:59.529 Yet born in a different part of the world,[br]the very same dog would be viewed as “dinner.” 0:15:59.529,0:16:05.209 Nothing about the dog herself has changed—only[br]her geographical location and, more importantly, 0:16:05.209,0:16:10.029 the perception of her role and value by the[br]humans deciding her fate. 0:16:10.029,0:16:15.959 Such subjective shifting of assigned worth[br]is the very basis of anthropocentrism, a belief 0:16:15.959,0:16:20.180 system that “regards humans as separate[br]from and superior to nature and holds that 0:16:20.180,0:16:25.490 human life has intrinsic value while other[br]entities (including animals, plants, …and 0:16:25.490,0:16:31.170 so on) are resources that may justifiably[br]be exploited for the benefit of humankind.” 0:16:31.170,0:16:36.490 Our anthropocentric worldview explains many[br]bizarre displays of human doublethink. 0:16:36.490,0:16:40.980 An example I covered in my speech “The Best[br]We Have To Offer,” which concerns legislative 0:16:40.980,0:16:46.399 issues pertaining to animal cruelty, was when[br]the European Union signed the Treaty of Lisbon, 0:16:46.399,0:16:52.250 recognizing non-human animals legally sentient,[br]deserving freedom from hunger, thirst, discomfort, 0:16:52.250,0:16:57.600 pain, injury, disease, fear, distress and[br]mental suffering—and then use this very 0:16:57.600,0:17:03.560 recognition of their capacity to feel the[br]same emotions and sensations as we do to design 0:17:03.560,0:17:10.510 the exact manner in which humans may legally[br]violate, imprison, cut, burn, alter, and murder 0:17:10.510,0:17:11.510 them. 0:17:11.510,0:17:16.480 A preliminary report for the new legislation[br]compared the financial cost of gassing verses 0:17:16.480,0:17:24.280 grinding alive the estimated 335 million unwanted[br]day-old male chicks born into the EU egg industry 0:17:24.280,0:17:25.410 every year. 0:17:25.410,0:17:31.350 Finding live grinding, or maceration, to be[br]far more cost-effective, it was codified as 0:17:31.350,0:17:37.140 the method of choice in the resulting groundbreaking[br]animal protection legislation. 0:17:37.140,0:17:42.150 In her article “Pets or Meat,” Professor[br]of Law Marry Anne Case highlights the complications 0:17:42.150,0:17:47.000 arising from the condemnation of bestiality[br]on the grounds of incapacity to consent. 0:17:47.000,0:17:52.120 Citing how even the training of one’s pets[br]is a form of persuasion difficult to “differentiate…with 0:17:52.120,0:17:54.790 reference to consent,” Case concludes that: 0:17:54.790,0:17:58.750 “If we think there should be more strict[br]or rigorous legal controls on having one's 0:17:58.750,0:18:04.130 pets trained to do what would violate the[br]bestiality laws than on other stupid pet tricks, 0:18:04.130,0:18:08.679 we should acknowledge straightforwardly that[br]it is our attitude toward sex, more than our 0:18:08.679,0:18:13.610 concern for animal freedom of choice or animal[br]welfare, that motivates us.” 0:18:13.610,0:18:18.750 Far from having the animals’ interests at[br]heart, it appears that, as Dr. Davis wrote, 0:18:18.750,0:18:24.670 “the primary mainstream objection to bestiality…is[br]that sex between humans and nonhumans, regardless 0:18:24.670,0:18:31.220 of the circumstances in which it occurs including[br]rape, is ‘an offence to our status and dignity 0:18:31.220,0:18:32.620 as human beings.’” 0:18:32.620,0:18:36.080 That’s the power of human perception. 0:18:36.080,0:18:43.340 That our violation of their bodies is an affront[br]to our “dignity.” 0:18:43.340,0:18:48.309 Davis describes how, in regards to bestiality,[br]some animal advocates advanced the argument 0:18:48.309,0:18:53.080 that “nonhuman animals are not in a position[br]to give informed consent…by virtue of [their] 0:18:53.080,0:18:57.860 presumed inherent intellectual inferiority[br]to humans.” 0:18:57.860,0:19:01.380 Even in their supposed defense, we insult[br]them. 0:19:01.380,0:19:06.050 This is why, in “Rethinking Bestiality,”[br]one of the few essays focusing on the issue 0:19:06.050,0:19:11.280 of bestiality from an animal rights standpoint,[br]criminologist Piers Beirne calls for “a 0:19:11.280,0:19:16.900 concept of interspecies sexual assault,”[br]independent of moral outrage, empty allusions 0:19:16.900,0:19:20.610 to victim status, and lack of consent through[br]idiocy. 0:19:20.610,0:19:25.360 Referencing Carol J Adams, Beirne lays the[br]foundation for a truly victim-centered approach 0:19:25.360,0:19:27.320 to the sexual assault of animals: 0:19:27.320,0:19:32.100 “...in seeking to replace anthropocentrism[br]with an acknowledgement of the sentience of 0:19:32.100,0:19:37.711 animals, we must start with the fact that[br]in almost every situation humans and animals 0:19:37.711,0:19:41.130 exist in a relation of potential or actual[br]coercion… 0:19:41.130,0:19:46.800 For genuine consent to sexual relations to[br]be present…both participants must be conscious, 0:19:46.800,0:19:49.820 fully informed and positive in their desires… 0:19:49.820,0:19:54.780 Bestiality involves sexual coercion because[br]animals are incapable of saying yes or no 0:19:54.780,0:19:57.720 to humans in forms that humans can readily[br]understand… 0:19:57.720,0:20:01.900 If we cannot know whether animals consent[br]to our sexual overtures, then we are as much 0:20:01.900,0:20:06.850 at fault when we tolerate interspecies sexual[br]relations as when we fail to condemn adults 0:20:06.850,0:20:11.101 who have sexual relations with infants or[br]with children or with…[others]—who, for 0:20:11.101,0:20:18.460 whatever reason, are unable to refuse participation.”I[br]hope this rather intensive analysis of bestiality 0:20:18.460,0:20:20.580 gave you some food for thought. 0:20:20.580,0:20:21.580 Please share it around. 0:20:21.580,0:20:26.130 I would like to thank my $50 and above patrons[br]and my whole Nugget Army Patreon family for 0:20:26.130,0:20:30.870 making it possible for me to conduct this[br]research, deliver speeches all over the world 0:20:30.870,0:20:33.490 and create hundreds of free educational videos. 0:20:33.490,0:20:37.049 If you’d like to help support Bite Size[br]Vegan’s educational efforts, please see 0:20:37.049,0:20:39.940 the support links below or the link in the[br]sidebar. 0:20:39.940,0:20:44.410 Subscribe to the channel and click the bell[br]to enable notifications for more vegan content. 0:20:44.410,0:20:52.549 Now go live vegan, question your perception,[br]and I’ll see you soon. 0:20:52.549,0:20:53.049 I wonder how long this will stay on YouTube...