Member

Quite simply, if seven years is appropriate for sex with a dead person, despicable though that is, two years is grossly inadequate for sex with a live animal, which may then have to be put down or killed by the abuser. Of course, I accept that government Amendment 301 is better than what we have currently, but the two-year penalty needs to be increased. I know that my noble friend has said that he may look at other things at Third Reading. All I ask from the Government at Third Reading is simply to increase the two years up to five: make it the same as animal cruelty. That is not too much to ask for; it is still less than the penalty relating to a corpse, and it is much better than the current draft.