'Ban sex with animals'

A Liberal Party member of parliament has called for Sweden to ban sex with animals. Having witnessed an upsurge in the popularity of bestiality in recent years, Jan Ertsborn is urging legislators to criminalize the practice.

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The politician's arguments tally with those of the Swedish Animal Welfare Agency, which spoke out in favour of a ban on human sexual relations with animal earlier this year. Sweden is one of a number of countries in which bestiality is legal.

"What most people think of is the classic image of cows in a shed. But having spoken to a number of veterinarians, I know that it is smaller animals such as dogs and cats that are most at risk," Ertsborn told The Local.

"Veterinarians see a lot of injuries that they believe are caused by this behaviour but it is difficult to prove," he added.

Mona Enetoft, a 28-year-old truck driver from southern Sweden, has given the MP her full backing by setting up an online petition calling for zoophilia to be outlawed.

As a keen horse rider and all round animal lover, she said she considered the practice entirely indefensible.

"I just don't understand how anyone can even try to justify it," she told The Local.

She went on to relate the story of a man in northern Sweden who was recently cleared of charges of cruelty to animals despite having had sex with several horses.

"If he came near any of my horses I hope they'd give him a good kick," she said.

Enetoft added that the thought of people having sex with animals made her "very sad".

"I hope my petition at namninsamling.se will encourage politicians to take up the issue so we don't have to wait another ten years before anything happens," she said.