07-20-2017, 02:24 AM
I agree with the majority here, that the main urge for legislation comes in the aftermath of people getting caught IRL, and then only if the case spreads from the police blotters to the local media, and especially if it gets picked up by regional or national news (the likelihood of which is rather unpredictable). Unless children are involved (even if only remotely), most bestiality cases are settled quietly and never reach a juried courtroom, so the media are very unlikely to hear about it. What happens in the courtroom rarely makes its way into legislation unless the public/media hear about it and decide it's worth worrying about. That, too, is unpredictable.
As for the internet, while *we* may rely heavily on it for zoo-ish information, legal professionals are quite aware that the internet is 99% crap and therefore *not* a reliable source of data. Despite our grumbling and our conspiracy theories, when the government wants to pass legislation, they *normally* try very hard to support their cases with only objective and unbiased data. If they don't, the law is likely to get vetoed or deemed unconstitutional, or at the very least sent back to square one for revisions. In the wake of strong public outcry, however (such as in the case of Mr. Hands, which got blown way out of proportion), governments are more likely to give in to public pressure and enact legislation to "protect" the people/animals/environment/whatever, even if it's flawed or if they know it won't really make much of a difference.
The main place our image online *might* make a *small* difference in such cases is when the media gets involved in a high-profile bestiality case and wants to "research" the subject in order to flesh out an article or report. Since media organizations are highly competitive and their articles very time-sensitive, they don't always fact-check their data thoroughly. They'll often draw their info from whatever "resource" Google lists first and be done with it. Back when I had my own website, actaeon.org, there was so little information about zoophilia online that Google usually put me near the top, which was cool back when it mattered. Nowadays, there's so much garbage, fluff and chaff on the subject that the internet is an information wasteland unless you really know how and where to search.
Despite our best efforts, our online image will probably only get worse. Ignorance spreads much faster than enlightenment, and the enlightened people whose information really matters tend to keep a low profile and only talk in places like this one which wouldn't show up on Google anyway (would they?). If we want to keep the legal beagles at bay, the wisest course of action is to be safe, quiet and discreet, control our emotions and behavior, and above all: don't...get...caught.
