by Renee McGuinness, Vermont Family Alliance Policy Analyst

Senator Steven Heffernan asked Senator Tanya Vyhovsky on the Senate Floor Friday whether persons that identify as animals would be exempt from Vermont’s bestiality laws.

Heffernan asked his question after the procedural second reading of H.578, an animal cruelty bill that expands upon Vermont’s existing laws, including expanding the range of sexual activities that would be considered bestiality.

“In these crazy times, what happens if the individual identifies as an animal having intercourse with an animal? How is the courts going to handle that? A follow-up question to that being that we voted through Prop 4, and if it does make it through the state, and I have a gender identity that I identify as a dog and had sex with my dog, is this law gonna affect me?(sic)”, asked Heffernan.

Heffernan asks a relevant question.

If Prop 4 “Equality of Rights” amendment is not limited to protections for the finite list of state-sanctioned historically marginalized groups named in Prop 4, and “identity”, “identity expression”, and “self-expression” are small leaps from “gender identity” and “gender expression” listed in Prop 4, could Therians, which are persons who identify as animals, be considered a marginalized group, and could they be constitutionally protected to engage in sexual activity with an animal?

Sounds cray-cray, I know. But given Article 22 Personal Reproductive Liberty guarantees the rights of any person of any age and gender identity to engage in reproductive activities, and given the expected passage of Proposition 4 Equality of Rights amendment in November, would the State have the legal legs to enforce its own bestiality laws if a Therian sued the State for its right to engage in sexual activity with an animal?

Vyhovsky responded to Heffernan, “the current law is quite clear that any act between a person and an animal that involves contact with the mouth, sex organ, or anus of the person and the mouth, sex organ, or anus of the animal without a bonafide veterinary purpose will be a crime.”

Heffernan pointed out that H.578 says “person,” and asked again that if he identifies as an animal, would he be affected by the law.

Vyhovsky responded, “Again, law is quite clear that that type of behavior between a person and an animal is not legal in either in current law or as is proposed with this law. If you’re asking questions about a potential future supreme court ruling on Proposition 4, I cannot speak for the Supreme Court (sic).”

H.578 has language that criminalizes, “engaging in sexual conduct with an animal in the presence of a minor or in which a minor is a participant”, along with three other provisions that criminalize the organization and promotion of sexual conduct with an animal in the presence of a minor, and possessing or distributing images of sexual conduct with an animal in the presence of a minor, see pages 5 and 6.

However, there are a growing number of children that identify as Therians, according to an article in Mamamia, a publication and podcast in Australia. According to the article, adults with psychology degrees advise parents to encourage their Therian-identifying children to explore their animal identity. If a minor identifies as an animal, would they also be exempt from Vermont’s bestiality laws which apply to humans, not animals? What if both an adult and a child identify as animals? Would Vermont’s bestiality laws apply to them as a couple?

If schools are encouraging students to explore their sexual identity through Kindergarten classroom books and Vermont Agency of Education’s LGBTQ+-inclusive sex education, are there some school personnel that are also encouraging students to explore their animal identity?

Heffernan ended with, “I’m gonna vote for this bill, but I wanna make this chamber aware of what’s coming.”

Was Senator Heffernan issuing a prophetic warning regarding “identity” under the expected passage of Prop 4? I think so.

H. 578 passed for a third reading on the Senate floor on Friday, May 15, 2026. The bill will likely pass its third and final reading and head to the Governor for his signature.

Senator Anne Watson, the presenter of the next bill, said, “I’m just gonna take a second to, like, shake out the from the previous conversation. Okay. So here we go, data centers . . .”

H.578 Senate floor discussion video and transcript can be found, here.

An Identity Subculture Glossary, for your reference, AI generated, check your own sources:

• Therian: Specifically refers to those who identify as earth animals (e.g., wolves, cats, dogs).   The term derives from Greek words for “beast” and “human.” Therians typically distinguish their experience as an involuntary internal identity rather than a role-play.

• Otherkin : An umbrella term for individuals who identify as partly or wholly non-human. This includes animals, elves, dragons, and inanimate objects. The identity is often described as an intrinsic “sense of self” rather than a conscious choice. 

• Xenogender: Xenogenders are genders that are not defined by the male/female binary. While some xenogenders may use animal metaphors (e.g., “catgender”) to describe the vibe or nature of a gender, this is distinct from identifying as an actual animal. 

• Furry: A subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. While some furries create “fursonas” (animal avatars), this is generally an interest or artistic expression rather than an identity of being an animal. 

• Animalgender: A xenogender term where a person’s gender is described as being like an animal, but they do not necessarily identify as the animal itself.