Poll: Should consenting bestiality be legal?

[Tenspace]

Just askin.

How does an animal consent?

[Mog]

Technically, the animal would consent if it initiated the act. Um, why are you quoting the Koran?

Damn, this is a real "dill of a pickle", as Ned Flanders would say. On the one hand, I believe in the Libertarian ideal of personal freedom except where that freedom infringes on the rights of others, while on the other hand, I personally think bestiality is really, really, really "icky".

Sooooooooooo.............If the animal "consents", then I don't see why not. But I don't see how the animal would indicate it's consent, as myst4726, mentioned, and I don't see how a person could prove that the animal "initiated the act" if he was brought up on animal cruelty charges.

I know that Ol' Mrs. Moe will get on me for saying this, but I have to say 'why not'. An animal, by nature, is a sexual being. It's completely ruled by it's instinct to have sex. If an animal is in heat, will not be harmed by the act, and the guy is into that kinda sick thing. I don't see why not. Other than the bible saying not to of course.

Do animals of different species engage in sex? Isn't one the the speciation mechanisms the inability or the loss of desire to mate between two groups thereby isolating the gene pool?

Mog wrote

Technically, the animal would consent if it initiated the act. Um, why are you quoting the Koran?

We live in a Christian dominated society who love to throw out Bible quotes to defend their faith. My quote is equally valid as their quote and it makes an opposing claim simulataneously.

[Choobus]

Are you talking about Ann Coulter again Tenspace?

myst7426 wrote

Do animals of different species engage in sex? Isn't one the the speciation mechanisms the inability or the loss of desire to mate between two groups thereby isolating the gene pool?

Not only can they have sex, they can even produce offspring in some cases!

For example:

--The mule is a cross between a female horse and a male donkey. A "hinney" is a cross between a male horse and female donkey.

--The "liger" is a cross between a male lion and female tiger. A "tigron" is a cross between a male tiger and female lion.

--Grizzlies and polar bears can produce hybrids.

As far as sexually-reproducing species go, one definition of a "species" is "a group of individuals that are capable of producing viable offspring only with other members of the group". The term "viable" is key here. While offspring can be produced by horse-donkey and lion-tiger matings, these offspring are typically sterile (as in the case of the mule) or plagued by health problems throughout their lives (as in the case of the liger). This prevents the lion and tiger and horse and donkey genes from re-mixing, so horses and donkeys, and lions and tigers are considered to be separate species. In the case of polar bears and grizzly bears, while the offspring may be viable, their natural habitats are so different and so geographically separated that matings are rare, so there's little chance of polar bear and grizzly genes re-mixing to re-form one population of bears. The vast majority of species are completely incapable of producing even non-viable offspring, however, since the sperm and egg from the different species fail to recognize each other. In a way, the inability of sperm and egg to recognize each other is the "last step" in speciation. So what we see in horses and donkeys is effectively speciation in action! Take that, creationists!

[Mog]

Evil_Mage_Ra wrote

Damn, this is a real "dill of a pickle", as Ned Flanders would say. On the one hand, I believe in the Libertarian ideal of personal freedom except where that freedom infringes on the rights of others, while on the other hand, I personally think bestiality is really, really, really "icky".

Sooooooooooo.............If the animal "consents", then I don't see why not. But I don't see how the animal would indicate it's consent, as myst4726, mentioned, and I don't see how a person could prove that the animal "initiated the act" if he was brought up on animal cruelty charges.

He could prove it if he videotaped it. In fact, this video is what prompted my reply:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=a54soTIUJxE

id say no, for the same reason that under age sex should be illegal.
the animals dont have the mental facilities to know what they are doing the same way a mentaly developed adult would.

You should not take advantage of the mentaly challeneged in the same way.


Now lets say that through the miracles of genetics that we make superintellegent FURRY creatures thenas long as they are smart enough to make their choices and know the ends of those acts.. then sure.

but thats another thread.

[The Judge]

myst7426 wrote

Do animals of different species engage in sex? Isn't one the the speciation mechanisms the inability or the loss of desire to mate between two groups thereby isolating the gene pool?

That is part of how the machinery of evolution works.
Remember those chimp / human "break-up sex" stories last month:

Story 1
Story 2
Story 3
Story 4

ranma1/2 wrote

id say no, for the same reason that under age sex should be illegal.
the animals dont have the mental facilities to know what they are doing the same way a mentaly developed adult would.

You should not take advantage of the mentaly challeneged in the same way.


Now lets say that through the miracles of genetics that we make superintellegent FURRY creatures thenas long as they are smart enough to make their choices and know the ends of those acts.. then sure.

but thats another thread.

Underage sex should not be illegal. It is a completely natural desire to have sex at age 13, 14, 15, etc. You are arguing for it to be illegal because of modern norms regarding sex.

[Tenspace]

myst7426 wrote

Underage sex should not be illegal. It is a completely natural desire to have sex at age 13, 14, 15, etc. You are arguing for it to be illegal because of modern norms regarding sex.

It's the whole consent thing, myst... the complications arise from the fact that children's decisions are easily manipluated by adults (that whole trust thing built into kids through evolution), so it isn't that two consentiong 15 year olds should be punished, but a fifteen year old with a 30 year old man who filled her with bullshit before filling her with...

[Tenspace]

I am surprised that several of you are taking this thread waay too seriously.

And we haven't heard a thing from any animal. There's one "Baaa" vote, but I think that was a human.