Which countries explicitly criminalized bestiality and in what year?
Executive summary
Denmark explicitly criminalised bestiality in 2015, making first offenses punishable by up to one year in prison and repeat offenses up to two years [1]. Contemporary summaries note other countries and some U.S. states moved to ban the practice in the 2010s, and reporting identifies Hungary, Finland and Romania as EU countries where it remained legal at the time of the Denmark law [1] [2].
1. Denmark’s 2015 law: a clear national prohibition
Denmark passed a law in April 2015 that made sexual acts with animals a specific criminal offence; the bill was promoted by Farming Minister Dan Jørgensen on grounds that existing statutes did not adequately protect animals, and the new penalties are up to one year in prison for a first offence and up to two years for repeat offences [1].
2. Snapshot of the EU after Denmark’s change
Contemporary reporting framed Denmark’s move as leaving Hungary, Finland and Romania as the only EU countries—at that time—where bestiality was still legal, highlighting a regional shift toward explicit bans in the mid‑2010s [1]. That framing suggests Denmark’s law materially changed the map of explicit criminalisation in the EU [1].
3. Broader trends reported in popular summaries
Popular summary articles and lists noted a wave of outlawing in the 2010s, citing Denmark, Sweden and various U.S. states as places that had recently enacted bans or updated statutes to criminalise sex with animals [2]. Such pieces package legislative changes into a narrative of recent tightening of laws across jurisdictions [2].
4. What the available sources cover — and what they don’t
The supplied reporting gives a clear, cited year for Denmark’s law and points to Hungary, Finland and Romania as exceptions in the EU at that moment [1]. The sources also assert that Sweden and some U.S. states had outlawed bestiality within the same general timeframe but do not supply specific years or statutes for those jurisdictions in the excerpts provided [2]. Available sources do not mention a comprehensive, country‑by‑country list with enactment years beyond Denmark in 2015 [1] [2].
5. On sourcing and completeness: why precise, global answers are missing
The file referenced (a Wikipedia SVG map of “Legality of zoophilia by country or territory”) implies a global visual summary exists, but the snippet alone does not include dates or legislative citations [3]. Therefore, while the map may display status by country, the provided materials do not give the explicit criminalisation year for most countries; any authoritative, country‑by‑country timeline is not present in the current reporting [3].
6. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas in the coverage
News outlets like the BBC framed Denmark’s law as correcting an animal‑welfare gap and emphasised prosecutorial limits under prior law, reflecting an animal‑protection policy perspective [1]. Popular listicles that mention multiple countries and U.S. states [2] often aim for shock value and broad summaries rather than legislative precision; their purpose is editorial or entertainment, not legal documentation, which can skew perception of legislative comprehensiveness [2].
7. How to get a definitive, country‑by‑country timeline
To assemble a reliable list of which countries explicitly criminalised bestiality and in what year requires consulting primary legal texts, official government gazettes, or comprehensive legal databases for each country; the sources provided here do not supply that level of detail [3] [1] [2]. For rigorous reporting, cross‑referencing national penal codes and legislative histories is necessary — the current excerpts are a starting point but not definitive.
Limitations: this article relies only on the supplied sources; they clearly document Denmark’s 2015 law [1] and summarize broader trends [2] but do not offer a full, dated catalogue of countries that criminalised bestiality [3] [1] [2].