Bestiality: Texas Penal Code §21.09

The Texas Bestiality law makes it illegal to perform sexual acts with animals.

The 85th Texas Legislature created this new law in 2017 and codified it at Texas Penal Code Section 21.09. It was still illegal to engage in bestiality acts in Texas prior to 2017, but it was outlawed under the Public Lewdness law. Then in 2017, the legislature moved these prohibited acts to their own Bestiality statute.

The legislature made no changes to the law in 2023. In fact, the legislature has not amended this law since its enactment in 2017.

Bestiality is a felony in Texas.

The Penal Code classifies the Texas Bestiality law under Title 5 “Offenses Against the Person,” Chapter 21 “Sexual Offenses.” Learn more about the Texas offense of Bestiality below.

What is the current Texas law about Bestiality?

Texas law currently defines the offense of Bestiality in Penal Code Section §21.09 as follows:^[1]

(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:

(1) engages in an act involving contact between:

(A) the person’s mouth, anus, or genitals and the anus or genitals of an animal; or

(B) the person’s anus or genitals and the mouth of the animal;

(2) fondles or touches the anus or genitals of an animal in a manner that is not a generally accepted and otherwise lawful animal husbandry or veterinary practice, including touching through clothing;

(3) causes an animal to contact the seminal fluid of the person;

(4) inserts any part of a person’s body or any object into the anus or genitals of an animal in a manner that is not a generally accepted and otherwise lawful animal husbandry or veterinary practice;

(5) possesses, sells, transfers, purchases, or otherwise obtains an animal with the intent that the animal be used for conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4);

(6) organizes, promotes, conducts, or participates as an observer of conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4);

(7) causes a person to engage or aids a person in engaging in conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4);

(8) permits conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4) to occur on any premises under the person’s control;

(9) engages in conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4) in the presence of a child younger than 18 years of age; or

(10) advertises, offers, or accepts the offer of an animal with the intent that the animal be used in this state for conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4).

This law was created in 2017 by the 85th Texas Legislature^[2] and was codified at Section 21.09 in the Texas Penal Code. The legislature created the offense of Bestiality and made several other changes to laws on the same subject, and the law took effect September 1, 2017.^[3] The legislature also added this offense to the list of registrable offenses for the purposes of Texas offender registration.^[4] Under the laws passed in 2017, judges were also given wider discretion to set conditions for community supervision for this offense.^[5]

There is also a defense in the law provided by subsection (c):

(c) It is an exception to the application of this section that the conduct engaged in by the actor is a generally accepted and otherwise lawful animal husbandry or veterinary practice.

How can I be charged with a Bestiality offense in Texas?

You can be charged with Bestiality in Texas if the state’s attorneys believe that each of the elements of 21.09(a), in any of the categories of (1)-(10), as described in the section above have been met.

What is the statute of limitation for Bestiality in Texas?

Bestiality offenses have a three-year limitations period.^[6]

What is the penalty for a Texas Bestiality offense?

The crime is penalized as a state jail felony, unless the offense is committed under subsection (a)(9) or results in serious bodily injury or death of the animal, in which event the offense is a felony of the second degree.^[7]

Can you get probation for Bestiality in Texas?

The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure allows both judges and juries to grant probation for Bestiality, and judges are also allowed to accept deferred adjudication plea deals.^[8]

Note, however, that judges may not grant community supervision after a conviction if (1) the defendant used or exhibited a deadly weapon during the commission of the felony or immediate flight thereafter and (2) the defendant used or exhibited the deadly weapon himself or was a party to the offense and knew that a deadly weapon would be used or exhibited.^[9]

Do I have to register as a sex offender in Texas if guilty of Bestiality?

Any Texas Bestiality conviction or adjudication, including deferred adjudication, requires registration as a sex offender.^[10]

What level of crime is Bestiality in Texas?

The Penal Code classifies the punishment for Bestiality as a state jail felony, or if the offense causes serious bodily injury or death of the animal, a third degree felony.

Learn more about the penalty range for this offense in the section above.

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Legal References:

^1. Texas Penal Code §21.09. This law is current as of 2024.^2. SB 1232, 85th Texas Legislature, Section 2, effective September 1, 2017^3. S.B. 1232 at Sections 9-10^4. SB 1232, 85th Texas Legislature, Section 5^5. Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.511(b), as enacted by SB 1232, 85th Texas Legislature, Section 4, effective September 1, 2017:

(b) If a judge grants community supervision to a defendant convicted of an offense under Section 21.09, Penal Code, the judge may:

(1) require the defendant to relinquish custody of any animals in the defendant’s possession;

(2) prohibit the defendant from possessing or exercising control over any animals or residing in a household where animals are present; or

(3) require the defendant to participate in a psychological counseling or other appropriate treatment program for a period to be determined by the court.

^6. See Code of Criminal Procedure 12.01(9)^7. Texas Penal Code §21.09(b), as enacted by SB 1232, 85th Texas Legislature, Section 2, effective September 1, 2017^8. See Chapter 42, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 42A.054, Art. 42A.056, Art. 42A.102^9. Art. 42A.054(b), Texas Code of Criminal Procedure^10. Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 62.001(5)(A)