Is sex with dogs a protected activity?

Can a dog give consent; is consent from an animal necessary in the first place? What if you want to merely eat it? Discuss.

Professor Reynolds asks that question after two women are charged with cruelty to their dogs for showing them a good time. Our Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence vs Texas that "intimate behavior" is protected under the Due Process clause, and what could be more intimate than fondling a dachshund's private parts?

Fun comments at the link as readers weigh in. My favorite: "It's not the sex the authorities are worried about, it's the cigarettes afterwards".