From the bill ^[1]^:
[…] It amends the Criminal Code to, among other things, […] (g) criminalize the distribution of visual representations of bestiality; […] ^[1.3]^
(3.1) Every person commits an offence who knowingly publishes, distributes, transmits, sells, makes available or advertises any visual representation that is or is likely to be mistaken for a photographic, film, video or other visual recording of a person committing bestiality. ^[1.1]^
(3.4) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (3.1)
(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years; or
(b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction. ^[1.2]^
For context, from the Criminal Code:
(7) In this section, bestiality means any contact, for a sexual purpose, with an animal. ^[3]^
The Department of Justice's rationale is that it is "online sextortion" ^[2]^, and that it is known to be used to manipulate children for sexual purposes ^[2]^.
References
- Type: Document. Title: "Protecting Victims Act". Publisher: "Parliament of Canada". Published: 2025-12-09. Accessed: 2025-12-09T22:48Z. URI: https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/bill/C-16/first-reading.
- Type: Text. Location: §"Criminal Code">§"Amendments to the Act">§"Representation of bestiality"
- Type: Text. Location: §"Criminal Code">§"Amendments to the Act">§"Punishment — representation of bestiality"
- Type: Text. Location: §"Summary">§"(g)"
- Type: Article. Title: "Canada overhauls Criminal Code to protect victims and keep kids safe from predators". Publisher: "Department of Justice Canada". Published: 2025-12-09. Accessed: 2025-12-09T22:46Z. URI: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-justice/news/2025/12/canada-overhauls-criminal-code-to-protect-victims-and-keep-kids-safe-from-predators.html.
- Type: Text. Location: §"Keep our kids safe from predators">§"Crack down on online sextortion".
[…] This legislation proposes stronger measures to address online sexploitation and child luring, including by criminalizing threatening to distribute child sexual abuse and exploitation material and distributing bestiality depictions, which are known to be used to manipulate children for sexual purposes. […]
- Type: Text. Location: §"Keep our kids safe from predators">§"Crack down on online sextortion".
- Type: Document (PDF). Title: "Criminal Code". Publisher: "Government of Canada". Published: 2025-11-20. Accessed: 2025-12-09T22:44Z. URI: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/C-46.pdf.
- Type: Text. Location: §160>§7 ("Definition of bestiality")
It would say "any person" but the context is clear it's talking about the victim. We do "spirit of the law" here anyway and not "letter of the law" so if someone were convicted under this law for furry stuff it would go straight to appeal.
Also you'd have to say imaginary creatures are the same as animals and furries are into beastiality.
Which I know is a fun meme, but legally, it's not even close.
In this case, out of curiosity, how would "the spirit of the law" be determined?
Courts decide. They look at broader context, eg the overall framing and intent of the bill. There's debate and argument, and where necessary there are appeals until it goes to the supreme court. In this case, they're not just going to look at a specific paragraph but the whole text of the law and what it's stated intent is.