Outlaw sex with animals, Nationalist MP says

Opposition MP Mario Galea has proposed making bestiality illegal in Malta, citing a lack of legislation on the topic.

Speaking in parliament on amendments to the Animal Welfare Act, Galea explained that a member of the judiciary had pointed out to him that the law fails to cater for instances where people are caught having sexual intercourse with animals.

Under current legislation, if someone is in fact found to be guilty of bestiality, the accused can only be charged with animal abuse.

Galea however suggested that bestiality should carry a jail term together with a €6,000 fine.

He went on to defend animal welfare commissioner Alison Bezzina, who recently faced a stream of abuse after arguing that zoos should be considered as a form of animal cruelty while on the programme Insights on TVM.

The comments posted on Facebook were largely of a sexual nature. In parliament, Galea not only read out a list of people who left abusive messages, but went on to table the comments in Parliament for all to see.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves," Galea said. "These are pornographic comments."

The MP went a step further and called on the Police Commissioner to investigate those who posted the comments.

"This is a hate crime and sexual harassment," Galea said. "I expect those who wrote these comments to pay for what they have written."