Miami-Dade County wants explicit ban on sex with animals — and that includes filming

A new Miami-Dade proposed ordinance lays out a detailed ban on humans getting sexual pleasure from animals. Among the newly explicit prohibitions: contact with animal sex organs, filming human-animal sex, and various permutations of a person using an animal in a sexual act.

The 300-word update to the county’s animal-cruelty ordinance was designed to mirror state law, which didn’t outright ban bestiality until 2011. The new rules would provide penalties for anyone engaged in sexual contact with an animal, or for anyone filming it or participating “as an observer.”

Florida has been home to some well publicized incidents involving sex with animals, including the recent case of a Bradenton woman facing misdemeanor charges for dozens of alleged oral interactions with her dog. Ashley Miller, 18, said she did not force the dog to do anything, according to police. Investigators recovered cellphone photos they said Miller took of the acts.

The statewide bestiality laws apply throughout Miami-Dade, too, but the county code gives authorities the option to seize an animal under a civil infraction as well. Miami-Dade’s proposed rules are set for a preliminary vote Tuesday before county commissioners, and are part of a larger rewrite of the local animal-cruelty rules.

Like the state rules, Miami-Dade’s law exempts breeders, trainers, show judges and others whose work require some intimate contact with animals. “This subsection does not apply to accepted animal husbandry practices, conformation judging, or accepted veterinary medical practices,” the proposed ordinance reads.

This story was originally published June 24, 2015 at 1:08 PM with the headline "Miami-Dade County wants explicit ban on sex with animals — and that includes filming."