Which countries had explicit bestiality bans added by law since 2015, and what were the statutes changed?
Executive summary
Since 2015 the clearest, well-documented instance of a national legislature expressly adding an explicit ban on sexual relations with animals is Denmark, which amended its animal-protection framework in April 2015 to criminalize bestiality; reporting and legal summaries cited here do not provide authoritative, contemporaneous statutes for other countries adding new national bans after 2015 [1] [2] [3].
1. Denmark — a legislative pivot in 2015 and what the statute changed
Denmark’s parliament voted in April 2015 to strengthen the Animal Protection Act by explicitly banning bestiality, creating criminal penalties of fines or imprisonment (up to one year for a first offence and two years for repeat offenders were reported) and bringing Denmark into line with most of its northern European neighbours that already criminalized the act [1] [2] [3]. Parliamentary supporters framed the change as closing a prosecutorial gap — previously prosecutors had to prove the animal’s suffering or rely on broader animal-welfare provisions — and as a measure to deter so‑called “animal‑sex tourism,” a rationale quoted in Danish reporting and summaries cited here [1] [2]. The Library of Congress summary makes clear the amendment was positioned as a strengthening of the Animal Protection Act and notes the vote and implementation timing [2].
2. What other national bans are often mentioned — pre‑2015 versus new laws
Contemporary international reporting and background pieces repeatedly list Germany, Norway, Sweden and Britain among countries that had already criminalized bestiality prior to Denmark’s change, and the New York Times summary cited those as previously banned examples [3]. The BBC’s 2015 account explicitly contrasted Denmark with Hungary, Finland and Romania as EU countries that still reportedly permitted the practice at that date, but that listing was a snapshot rather than a legal survey of subsequent reforms [1]. Available sources provided here document Denmark’s 2015 change clearly but do not present authoritative legislative texts showing other countries added explicit national bans after 2015.
3. United States and subnational changes — suggested but not documented in these sources
Some secondary and popular outlets have stated that “a few US states” outlawed bestiality in recent years, and a 2018 list article claims Denmark, Sweden and some US states outlawed the practice within a six‑year window, but the sources provided do not supply the statutory language, dates, or citations to state codes needed to confirm which U.S. states enacted explicit post‑2015 bans and how their statutes were amended [4]. Because criminal law in the United States is largely state‑level, changes after 2015 would typically appear as amendments to state penal codes; the present source set does not include those legislative texts or a reliable comprehensive legal survey, so no definitive national or subnational U.S. list can be asserted from these documents alone [4].
4. How reporting, motives and gaps shape the narrative
Coverage of Denmark’s reform emphasises animal‑welfare rationale and political optics (avoiding being “last” in northern Europe to ban the practice) and cites concerns about sex tourism raised by animal‑welfare advocates and politicians — sources such as the BBC and the Library of Congress summary reproduce those framings and note the lack of direct evidence for organized brothels while recording policymakers’ statements [1] [2]. Popular lists and background graphics (e.g., a Wikipedia map file referenced here) aggregate national statuses but can conflate pre‑existing bans with post‑2015 reforms or rely on incomplete data; the supplied file reference and list article do not substitute for primary statutory citations and therefore risk overstating or misdating legal changes without further verification [5] [4].
5. Bottom line and reporting limitations
Based on the reporting and legal summary available in the provided sources, Denmark is the documented country that explicitly added a statutory ban on bestiality in 2015 by amending its Animal Protection Act [1] [2]; other nations are frequently listed as having bans, and some outlets assert additional post‑2015 prohibitions (including in parts of the United States), but the material supplied here does not include the primary legislative texts or comprehensive legal surveys required to confirm and enumerate every country that added explicit bestiality bans after 2015 [4] [5] [3]. Additional research into national penal codes, state statutes (for the U.S.), and updated comparative legal databases would be required to produce a definitive post‑2015 list beyond Denmark.