The Queensland Court of Appeal on Tuesday reversed a decision by Southport District Court Judge David Reid who meted two years of probation and recorded the conviction on a woman in her 20s who had sex with a dog. The higher court allowed the Gold Coast woman convicted of bestiality to reapply for a blue card which permits her to work with disadvantaged children.

The unnamed woman responded in 2013 to a Craigslist advertisement from a man who sought a female willing to perform bestial acts, which he recorded. She agreed and had sex with the man’s dog which the Herald Sun reported was believed to be a terrier.

Court of Appeal Justice David Jackson, in overturning the lower court’s decision, explained, “The offence was instigated by the man who sought sexual gratification from it … It does not appear that (the woman) sought the same gratification, rather, she was prepared to accommodate the man’s wishes for a short time.”

He noted that the woman suffered from the “ill-conceived and tawdry sexual adventure” that caused her public embarrassment and other consequences of being prosecuted for an indictable offence. Jackson allowed the woman to re-apply for a blue card because he believes she poses no risk to children.

When the incident happened, she was still a university student who had then expressed a desire to work with disadvantaged kids, reports SkyNews. Jackson pointed out that she made a very poor choice “which she plainly regrets,” that is why he gave her a second chance.

According to Health24, bestiality is allowed in Texas, Finland, Hawaii, Japan and even parts of Australia “provided it does not cause the animal any pain.” Until five years ago, sex between humans and animals was legal in Sweden, Denmark and parts of the US, according to the Michigan State University’s Animal Law Centre.

In the 1940s, sexual researcher Alfred Kinsey estimated that eight percent of men and 3.6 percent of women had engaged in bestiality, although the bulk of his subjects were prisoners. A 1974 study by Morton Hunt gave a lower figure of 4.9 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.

A study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine which was done in Brazil found a higher rate at 34 percent. Most of those who admitted having sex with animals were men from rural areas. The research said that bestiality is a risk factor for penile cancer.

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