Alabama is one of fourteen states that has not outlawed bestiality, but a bill currently making its way through the legislature may change that in the near future.

Senate Bill 151, sponsored by Sen. Tom Whatley, R-Auburn, would make sexual contact with an animal illegal in Alabama. The bill passed the Senate today with no debate.

Bills outlawing bestiality have frequently come up in the Alabama legislature over the last few years, but usually get passed over in favor of more urgent issues.

Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, carried the bill several years in a row, but rarely appeared in committee meetings to present it.

Ford’s lack of attendance frustrated Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, so he offered an amendment during the 2013 session to rename the bill “The Craig Ford Bestiality Act.”

Ford wasn’t in attendance to object, so the amendment passed and the name stuck.

“I just want to make sure Representative Ford has ownership in this bill,” Senator Ward told Yellowhammer at the time. “I figured this would be a good way to get his attention about legislation he is supposedly carrying, and hopefully help him work his legislation a little better.”

With the Senate having already passed the bill, 2014 could be the year it becomes law.

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