WHY SHOULD SECRETARIAT HAVE ALL THE FUN?:

Closing the Barn Door: The notorious Enumclaw horse-sex case spurs a state senator to draft a bill banning bestiality. (Rick Anderson, 11/08/05, Seattle Weekly)

The bizarre death of a man who had sex with a horse made dreadful headlines. But last summer's infamous Enumclaw animal-intercourse investigation did not turn up a rural crime wave of bestiality, authorities say. State Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, however, plans to continue her push for a law barring such acts, worried the case revealed "an animal sex ring, a magnet for syndication of the sexual abuse of animals. People came from outside this state to engage in this activity because people knew they wouldn't be arrested."

Enumclaw Police and King County Sheriff's investigators ultimately expended little time on the case after determining no felony laws were broken. There was no convincing evidence of animal cruelty, and bestiality is not a crime in Washington. Investigators concluded that only three men were present when a 45-year-old Seattle man was killed while having sex with a horse July 2 at one of two neighboring farms where such acts took place in southeast King County. And only one suspect, James Michael Tait, 54, has been charged with a crime, first-degree trespassing, a misdemeanor.

"The sheriff's office did not find that any [felony] crimes had been committed," says sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart. Thus, "we didn't look too deeply into how many people had visited farm No. 1 [Tait's property] or how big an operation it was." Says Roach: "Right. What's the purpose of investigating further if there's no law against it? We're one of eight states without one. Animals are left unprotected, and it is abuse of an animal to sexually assault it."

When sex with horses is illegal, only...

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 9, 2005 7:48 PM