> I wonder how such laws handle cases where an animal rapes a human.
At one time, the animal might have been given a trial in a court, just like a human. Google "animals on trial" and you'll find some interesting articles about specific cases and the practice in general, mostly from a "let's make fun of our idiotic ancestors" perspective, but there is one from Slate in there that takes a more nuanced look at why they did it.
There is an early 20th century book about animal trials and punishment called "The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals" by Edmund P. Evans. It is available [1] at Project Gutenberg.
At one time, the animal might have been given a trial in a court, just like a human. Google "animals on trial" and you'll find some interesting articles about specific cases and the practice in general, mostly from a "let's make fun of our idiotic ancestors" perspective, but there is one from Slate in there that takes a more nuanced look at why they did it.
There is an early 20th century book about animal trials and punishment called "The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals" by Edmund P. Evans. It is available [1] at Project Gutenberg.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43286