MADISON, WI – (Wisconsin Radio Network) – Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has signed more than 60 bills into law.
The newest laws for the Badger State cover everything from elections to having sex with animals.
The measure getting the most attention is the ban on bestiality.
It requires anyone convicted to register as a sex offender.
The new law has been a priority of some northeast Wisconsin lawmakers for quite some time.
One case, in particular, involved a northeast Wisconsin man who had faced animal mistreatment charges in multiple counties.
Sterling Rachwal, formerly of rural Weyauwega, was booked into the Brown County Jail on recommended charges of mistreatment of animals causing death, sexual gratification with an animal, and burglary after deputies were called to a ranch for a suspicious person when the owner saw someone leave his barn in 2017.
Rachwal’s history stems back to 1993, when he was convicted in Monroe County on three counts, including sexual gratification with an animal, where he was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but had the sentence overturned on an appeal.
In 1996, he was convicted of four counts, including mistreating animals in Waupaca County, but was declared not guilty on account of mental disease and was committed to a mental institution and released in 2008.
He was recommitted to a mental health institute in Waupaca County in 2010, but released again in 2015. Rachwal was also arrested in Fond Du Lac County in 2010 for disorderly conduct after he was found in a barn.
On a busy day, the governor also vetoed two laws dealing with raffles and sweepstakes.
