A man in The Netherlands who stood accused of having sex with a sheep walked free from court because the animal was unable to testify that it hadn't given him prior consent or that it had suffered emotional stress as a result.
Without this testimony people cannot be found guilty of bestiality in Holland. Animal rights campaigner Jos van Huisen noted "Short of putting the sheep in the dock, at the moment these perverts cannot be prosecuted."
The country's Minister of Justice, Ernst Hirsch Ballin, has since stated that he will fight to change the law so that in future it will be a criminal offence to have sex with animals.
