Zoophilia
Encyclopedia
Zoophilia, from the Greek
ζῷον (zṓion, "animal") and φιλία (philia, "friendship" or "love") is the practice of sex between humans and non-human animals (bestiality), or a preference or fixation on such practice. People who practice zoophilia are known as zoophiles, but they are also known as zoosexuals or simply "zoos".
Although sex with animals is not outlawed in some countries, it is not explicitly condoned anywhere. In most countries, zoophilic acts are illegal under animal abuse
laws or laws dealing with crimes against nature
; the notion that such acts are "abusive" is disputed.
, sodomy and zooerasty are others closely related to the subject but are less homologous to the former or are uncommon usage. "Bestiosexuality" was discussed briefly by Allen (1979), but never became established.
The term "zoophilia" was introduced into the field of research on sexuality in Psychopathia Sexualis
(1886) by Krafft-Ebing
, who described a number of cases of "violation of animals (bestiality)", as well as "zoophilia erotica", which he defined as a sexual attraction to animal skin or fur.
Zoophilia can refer to sexual activity with non-human animals (bestiality), the desire to do so, or to the paraphilia
of the same name which requires a definite preference for animals over humans as sexual partners.
Some zoophiles and researchers draw a distinction between zoophilia and bestiality, using the former to describe the desire to form sexual relationships with animals, and the latter to describe the sex acts alone.
Masters (1962) uses the term "bestialist" specifically in his discussion of zoosadism, which refers to deriving sexual pleasure from cruelty to animals. Stephanie LaFarge, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the New Jersey Medical School, and Director of Counseling at the ASPCA
, writes that two groups can be distinguished: bestialists, who rape or abuse animals, and zoophiles, who form an emotional and sexual attachment to animals. Williams and Weinberg studied self-defined zoophiles via the internet and found they saw the term as involving concern for the animal's welfare and pleasure, and an emphasis on believing they obtained consent, as opposed to the zoophile's concept of bestialists, who zoophiles defined as a group who focused only on their own gratification. Williams and Weinberg also quoted a British newspaper as saying that zoophilia is the term used by apologists of bestiality.
The term "zoosexual" itself was cited by researchers such as Miletski in the 1990s. It was seen as a value-neutral term which would be less susceptible to being loaded with emotion or rhetoric. Usage of the noun form can be applied to both a "zoosexual (person)" which is synonymous with zoophile, and a "zoosexual act", synonymous with bestiality or depending on the context zoophilia.
incidents have a sexual connotation.
Krafft-Ebing, same author who introduced zoophilia, used the term "zooerasty" for the paraphilia of exclusive sexual attraction to animals, but the term has fallen out of use.
characters and races that sit in-between them, such as the various aliens from Star Trek
, or Neytiri from Avatar. While the network censors and the majority of people accept anthropomorphic non-humans as legitimate targets for romantic affection, not everyone does. Technically this view is in conflict with legal definitions of bestiality, because the same legal systems define animals as 'vertebrates that aren't human', but no one has ever challenged such imagery being broadcast at prime time. Care should be taken that when discussing fictional or hypothetical cases, both parties are using the same dividing line between person and non-person.
has written that it is difficult to get a random sample in sexual research, and that even when Paul Gebhard
, Kinsey's research successor, removed prison samples from the figures, he found the figures were not significantly changed.
By 1974, the farm population in the USA had declined by 80 percent compared to 1940, reducing the opportunity to live with animals; Hunt's 1974 study suggests that the demographic changes led to a significant change in reported occurrence. Males in 1974 were 4.9% (1948: 8.3%), and in females in 1974 were 1.9% (1953: 3.6%). Miletski believes this is not a reduction in interest but a reduction in opportunity.
Nancy Friday
's 1973 book on female sexuality, My Secret Garden
, comprised around 190 fantasies from different women; of these, 23 involve zoophilic activity.
In one study, psychiatric patients were found to have a statistically significant higher prevalence rate (55 percent) of reported bestiality, both actual sexual contacts (45 percent) and sexual fantasy (30 percent) than the control groups of medical in-patients (10 percent) and psychiatric staff (15 percent). Crépault and Couture (1980) reported that 5.3 percent of the men they surveyed have fantasized about sexual activity with an animal during heterosexual intercourse. A 1982 study suggested that 7.5 percent of 186 university students had interacted sexually with an animal.
Sexual fantasies
about zoophilic acts can occur in people who do not wish to experience them in real life. Nancy Friday notes that zoophilia as a fantasy may provide an escape from cultural expectations, restrictions, and judgements in regard to sex. A frequency interest in and sexual excitement at watching animals mate
is cited as an indicator of latent zoophilia by Massen (1994). Masters (1962) says brothel madames used to stage exhibitions of animals mating, as they found it aroused their clientele, and that it can encourage their clients to engage in bestiality.
Several studies have found that women show stronger vaginal responses to films depicting bonobo
copulation than to non-sexual stimuli.
Laws on zoophilia are often triggered by specific incidents. While some laws are very specific, others employ vague terms such as "sodomy
" or "bestiality," which lack legal precision and leave it unclear exactly which acts are covered. In the past, some bestiality laws may have been made in the belief that sex with an animal could result in monstrous offspring, as well as offending the community. Current anti-cruelty laws focus more specifically on animal welfare while anti-bestiality law are aimed only at offenses to community standards.
Notable legal views include Sweden, where a 2005 report by the Swedish Animal Welfare Agency for the government expressed concern over the increase in reports of horse-ripping
incidents. The agency believed current animal cruelty legislation was not sufficient in protecting animals from abuse and needed updating, but concluded that on balance it was not appropriate to call for a ban. In New Zealand
, the 1989 Crimes Bill considered abolishing bestiality as a criminal offense, and instead viewing it as a mental health issue, but they did not, and people can still be prosecuted for it.
Some countries once had laws against single males living with female animals, such as Alpacas. Copulating with a female alpaca is still specifically against the law in Peru.
Until 2005, there was a farm near Enumclaw, Washington
that was an “animal brothel”, where people paid to have sex with animals. After an incident on July 2, 2005, when a man was pronounced dead in the emergency room of the Enumclaw community hospital after having been sodomized by a horse
, the state legislature
of the State of Washington, which had been one of the few states in the United States
without a law against bestiality, within six months passed a bill making bestiality illegal.
. Some zoonoses may be transferred through casual contact, but others are much more readily transferred by activities that expose humans to the semen
, vaginal fluids, urine
, saliva
, feces
and blood of animals. Examples of zoonoses are Brucellosis
, Q fever
, leptospirosis
, and toxocariasis
. Therefore sexual activity with animals is, in some instances, a high risk activity. Allergic reactions
to animal semen may occur, including anaphylaxis
. Bites and other trauma from penetration or trampling may occur.
and sociology
the word "zoophilia" is sometimes used without sexual implications. Being fond of animals in general or pets in particular is accepted in Western society, and although sometimes ridiculed, it is usually respected or tolerated. However, the word zoophilia is usually used to mean a sexual preference towards animals which is acted upon, a paraphilia
. People who identify as zoophiles may feel their love for animals is romantic rather than purely sexual, and say this makes them different from those committing entirely sexually motivated acts of bestiality. They may not act on their sexual attraction to animals.
, most zoophiles would not have known others, and for the most part engaged secretly, or told only trusted friends, family or partners. The internet
and its predecessors made people able to search for topics and information in areas which were not otherwise easily accessible and to talk with relative safety and anonymity. Because of the diary-like intimacy of blogs and the anonymity, zoophiles had the ideal opportunity in which to come out and express their sexuality. As with many other alternate lifestyles
, broader networks began forming in the 1980s when networked social groups
became more common at home and elsewhere. Such developments in general were already described by Markoff in 1990; computers meant people thousands of miles apart could feel they had the intimacy of being in a small village together The popular newsgroup alt.sex.bestiality
said to be in the top 1%" of newsgroup interest, i.e. 50 out of around 5000, reputedly started in humor along with personal bulletin board
s and talker
s, chief among them Sleepy's multiple worlds
, Lintilla, and Planes of Existence were among the first group media of this kind in the late 1980s and early 1990s, rapidly drawing together zoophiles, some of whom also created personal and social website
s and forum
s. By around 1992–1994 it became accurate to say that a wide social net had evolved. This was initially centered around the above newsgroup
which during the six years following 1990 had matured into a discussion and support group. The newsgroup included information about health issues, laws governing zoophilia, bibliography, and community events. Since the 1990s, other zoophile websites have been created and have grown in size; for example, the zoophile website beastforum.com
has nearly one million members as of October 2011.
Weinberg and Williams observe that the internet can socially integrate an incredibly large number of people. In Kinsey’s day contacts between animal lovers were more localized and limited to male compatriots in a particular rural community. Further, while Kinsey’s farm boys might have been part of a rural culture in which sex with animals was a part, the sex itself did not define the community. The zoophile community is not particularly large compared to other subcultures which make use of the internet, so Weinberg and Williams felt its aims and beliefs would change little as it grows. Unlike what Ross et al. (2000) suggested about gay men, that those particularly active on the internet may not be aware of a wider subculture, as there is not much of a wider subculture, Weinberg and Williams felt the virtual group would lead the development of the subculture. There also exist website
s which aim to provide support and social assistance to zoophiles (including resources to help and rescue abused or mistreated animals), but these are not usually publicized. Such work is often undertaken as needed by individuals and friends, within social networks, and by word of mouth. One notable early attempt at creating a zoophile support structure focused on social and psychological support was the newsgroup
soc.support.zoophilia which was proposed in 1994 but narrowly failed to meet the 2/3 majority needed to be created. The German support group "Interessengemeinschaft Zoophiler Menschen ("zoophile interest group") was a support group.
(the study of the human mind
), sexology
(a relatively new discipline primarily studying human sexuality
), ethology
(the study of animal behavior), and anthrozoology
(the study of human-animal interactions and bonds).
The nature of animal minds, animal mental processes and structures, and animal self-awareness
, perception
, emotion in animals
, and "map of the world", are studied within animal cognition
and also explored within various specialized branches of neuroscience
such as neuroethology
.
Zoophilia may also be covered to some degree by other fields such as ethics
, philosophy
, law
, animal rights
and animal welfare
. It may also be touched upon by sociology
which looks both at zoosadism in examining patterns and issues related to sexual abuse
and at non-sexual zoophilia in examining the role of animals as emotional support and companionship in human lives, and may fall within the scope of psychiatry
if it becomes necessary to consider its significance in a clinical context.
The Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine (Vol. 18, February 2011) states that sexual contact with animals is almost never a clinically significant problem by itself; it also states that there are several kinds of zoophiles:
Additionally, zoophiles in categories 2, 3, and 8 (romantic zoophiles, zoophilic fantisizers, and regular zoophiles) are the most common, while zoophiles found in categories 6 and 7 (sadistic bestials and opportunistic zoophiles) are the least common.
Zoophilia may reflect childhood experimentation, sexual abuse or lack of other avenues of sexual expression. Exclusive desire for animals rather than humans is considered a rare paraphilia, and sufferers often have other paraphilias with which they present. Zoophiles will not usually seek help for their condition, and so do not come to the attention of psychiatrists for zoophilia itself. It was placed in the classification "paraphilia
s not otherwise specified." in the DSM-III and IIII. The World Health Organization
takes the same position, listing a sexual preference for animals in its ICD
-10
as "other disorder of sexual preference".
The DSM-IV (TR) (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association
) requires that the individual does not receive the diagnosis of zoophilia, as with most other paraphilias, unless it is accompanied by distress or interference with normal functioning on the part of the individual.
The first detailed studies of zoophilia date from prior to 1910. Peer reviewed research into zoophilia in its own right started around 1960. However, a number of the most oft-quoted studies, such as Miletski, were not published in peer-reviewed
journals. There have been several significant modern books, from Masters (1962) to Beetz (2002).
More recently, research has engaged three further directions - the speculation that at least some animals seem to enjoy a zoophilic relationship assuming sadism
is not present, and can form an affectionate bond. Similar findings are also reported by Kinsey (cited by Masters), and others earlier in history. Miletski (1999) notes that information on sex with animals on the internet is often very emphatic as to what the zoophile believes gives pleasure and how to identify what is perceived as consent
beforehand. For instance, Jonathan Balcombe says animals do things for pleasure. But he himself says pet owners will be unimpressed by this statement, as this is not news to them.
Beetz described the phenomenon of zoophilia/bestiality as being somewhere between crime, paraphilia and love, although she says that most research has been based on criminological
reports, so the cases have frequently involved violence and psychiatric illness. She says only a few recent studies have taken data from volunteers in the community. As with all volunteer surveys and sexual ones in particular, these studies have a potential for self-selection
bias.
Medical research suggests that some zoophiles only become aroused by a specific species (such as horses), some zoophiles become aroused by multiple species (which may or may not include humans), and some zoophiles are not attracted to humans at all.
Passages in Leviticus 18
(Lev 18:23: "And you shall not lie with any beast and defile yourself with it, neither shall any woman give herself to a beast to lie with it: it is a perversion." RSV) and 20:15-16 ("If a man lies with a beast, he shall be put to death; and you shall kill the beast. If a woman approaches any beast and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the beast; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them." RSV) are cited by Jewish
, Christian
, and Muslim
theologians as categorical denunciation of bestiality.
In Part II of his Summa Theologica
, medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas
ranked various "unnatural vices" (sex acts resulting in "venereal pleasure" rather than procreation) by degrees of sinfulness, concluding that "the most grievous is the sin of bestiality." Some Christian theologians extend Matthew
's view that even having thoughts of adultery is sinful to imply that thoughts of committing bestial acts are likewise sinful.
A number of Islamic hadith condemn zoophilia:
There are a few references in Hindu
scriptures to religious figures engaging in symbolic sexual activity with animals such as explicit depictions of people having sex with animals included amongst the thousands of sculptures of "Life events" on the exterior of the temple complex
at Khajuraho
. The depictions are largely symbolic depictions of the sexualization of some animals and are not meant to be taken literally.
In the Hindu tradition, having sex with a sacred cow is believed to bring good fortune. In the Dharmaśāstra
tradition, the Hindu Visnu Smrti says that having sex with an animal is not wrong if certain conditions are met. And in the Manusmrti, mating between humans and animals is permitted:
Maya was the mother of Gautama Buddha
, the founder of Buddhism. According to legend, Maya had sex with a white elephant
and was impregnated by it.
The phenomenon of sexual intercourse with animals is not new. Instances of this behavior have been found in the Bible. In a cave painting from at least 8000 BC in the Northern Italian Val Camonica
a man is shown about to penetrate an animal. Raymond Christinger interprets that as a show of power of a tribal chief, and so we do not know if this practice was then more acceptable, and if the scene depicted was usual or unusual or whether it was symbolic or imaginary. The Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art says the scene may be humorous, as the penetrating man seems to be waving cheerfully with his hand at the same time. Potters seem to have spent time depicting the practice, but this may be because they found the idea amusing. Dr "Jacobus X", said to be a nom-de-plume for a French
author, said this was clearly "before any known taboos against sex with animals existed." Marc Epprecht states that authors such as Jacobus X do not deserve respect because their methodology is based on hearsay, and was designed for voyeuristic titilation of the reader. Masters said that since pre-historic man is prehistoric it goes without saying that we know little of his sexual behaviour, depictions in cave paintings may only show the artist's subjective preoccupations or thoughts.
Masters feels that in antiquity bestiality was widespread, and believed it was often incorporated into religious ritual. He believes it to have taken place in ancient Egypt, claiming that the zoomorphic forms of Ancient Egyptian gods ensures that bestiality would have been part of their rites. There is no evidence that the presence of gods with zoomorphic attributes ensures this in itself. However, Pindar, Herodotus, and Plutarch claimed the Egyptians engaged in ritual congress with goats. Such claims about other cultures do not necessarily reflect anything about which the author had evidence, but be a form of propaganda
or xenophobia
, similar to blood libel
.
Bestiality was accepted in some cultures indigenously, such as North America
and the Middle East
. Sexual intercourse between humans and non-human animals was common among Native American tribes such as the Hopi Indians
. Voget describes the sexual lives of young Native Americans as "rather inclusive," including bestiality. In addition, the Copper Inuit
people had "no aversion to intercourse with live animals".
Several cultures built temples (Khajuraho
, India
) or other structures (Sagaholm
, barrow
, Sweden
) with zoophilic carvings on the exterior, however at Khajuraho
these depictions are not on the interior, perhaps depicting that these are things that belong to the profane world rather than the spiritual world, and thus are to be left outside.
In the West, the most explicit records of sex involving humans and animals activity are associated with reports of the murderous sadism, torture
and rape
of the Roman games and circus
, in which some authors estimate that several hundreds of thousands died. Masters believes beasts were specially trained to copulate with women: if the girls or women were unwilling then the animal would attempt rape. A surprising range of creatures was used for such purposes, and taught how to copulate vaginally or anally. Representations of scenes from the sexual lives of the gods, such as Pasiphaë and the Bull
, were highly popular, often causing extreme suffering, injury or death. On occasion, the more ferocious beasts were permitted to kill and (if desired) devour their victims afterwards.
In the Church-oriented culture of the Middle Ages
zoophilic activity was met with execution, typically burning, and death to the animals involved either the same way or by hanging, as "both a violation of Biblical edicts
and a degradation of man as a spiritual being rather than one that is purely animal and carnal. Some witches were accused of having congress with the devil in the form of an animal. As with all accusations and confessions extracted under torture in the witch trials in Early Modern Europe
, their validity cannot be ascertained.
) updated its code stating that freedom of expression is at the heart of any democratic state. Adult audiences should be informed as to what they will be viewing or hearing, and the young, who cannot make a fully informed choice for themselves, should be protected. Hence a watershed
and other precautions were set up for explicit sexual material, to protect young people. Zoophile activity and other sexual matters may be discussed, but only in an appropriate context and manner.
The IPT was replaced after the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act in 1993, replaced with bodies designed to allow both more debate and increased consistency, and possession and supply of material that it is decided are objectionable was made a criminal offence.
References to bestiality are not uncommon in some media, usually comedy, especially cartoon
series such as Family Guy
(episode: "Screwed the Pooch") and South Park
(Recurring themes), satirical comedy
such as Borat
, and films (especially shock exploitation film
s), although a few broadcasters such as Howard Stern
(who joked about bestiality dial-a-date on NBC) and Tom Binns
(whose Xfm London
Breakfast Show resulted on one occasion in a live discussion about the ethics of zoophilic pornographic movies at peak child listening time) have been reprimanded by their stations for doing so. Mention in the media is often comical in nature. In literature, American novelist Kurt Vonnegut
refers to a photo of a woman attempting sexual intercourse with a Shetland Pony in The Sirens of Titan
, Slaughterhouse Five, and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
. Philip K. Dick
also refers to a photo of a woman copulating with a Shetland Pony in Flow My Tears The Policeman Said. John Irving
's novel The Cider House Rules
repeatedly mentions a pornographic photograph depicting oral sex on a pony. In Clerks II
Randal orders a donkey show as a going away present for his best friend Dante, in which it is referred to as "interspecies erotica" by the male performer. In June 2011, comedian Stephen Colbert
briefly discussed dolphin
-oriented zoophilia in a segment about same-sex marriage in New York.
involving sex with animals is widely illegal, even in most countries where the act itself is not explicitly outlawed. In the United States
, zoophilic pornography (in common with other pornography) would be considered obscene if it did not meet the standards of the Miller Test
and therefore is not openly sold, mailed, distributed or imported across state boundaries or within states which prohibit it. Under U.S. law, 'distribution' includes transmission across the Internet
. Production and mere possession appear to be legal, however. U.S. prohibitions on distribution of sexual or obscene materials are in some doubt, having been ruled unconstitutional
in United States v. Extreme Associates
(a judgement which was overturned on appeal
, December 2005). Similar restrictions apply in Germany (see above). In New Zealand
the possession, making or distribution of material promoting bestiality is illegal.
The potential use of media for pornographic movie
s was seen from the start of the era of silent film
. Polissons and Galipettes (re-released 2002 as "The Good Old Naughty Days
") is a collection of early French
silent films for brothel use, including some animal pornography, dating from around 1905 – 1930.
Material featuring sex with animals is widely available on the Internet, due to their ease of production, and because production and sale is legal in countries such as the Netherlands
and Denmark
. Prior to the advent of mass-market full-color glossy magazines such as Playboy
, so-called Tijuana Bible
s were a form of pornographic tract popular in America, sold as anonymous underground publications typically comprising a small number of stapled comic-strips representing characters and celebrities.
The promotion of "stars" began with the Danish Bodil Joensen
, in the period of 1969–72, along with other porn actors such as the Americans Linda Lovelace
(Dogarama, 1969), Chessie Moore (multiple films, c. 1994), Kerri Downs (three films, 1998) and Calina Lynx (aka Kelly G'raffe) (two films, 1998). Another early film to attain great infamy was "Animal Farm
", smuggled into Great Britain
around 1980 without details as to makers or provenance. The film was later traced to a crude juxtaposition of smuggled cuts from many of Bodil Joensen's 1970s Danish movies. Into the 1980s the Dutch
took the lead, creating figures like "Wilma" and the "Dutch Sisters". In 1980s, "bestiality" was featured in Italian
adult films with actresses like Denise Dior, Francesca Ray, and Marina Hedman
, manifested early in the softcore flick Bestialità in 1976.
Today, in Hungary
, where production faces no legal limitations, zoophilic materials have become a substantial industry that produces numerous films and magazines, particularly for Dutch
companies such as Topscore and Book & Film International, and the genre
has stars such as "Hector", a Great Dane
starring in several films. Many Hungarian mainstream performers also appeared anonymously in animal pornography in their early careers. For example, Suzy Spark.
In Japan
, animal pornography is used to bypass censorship laws, often featuring Japanese and Russian female models performing fellatio
on animals, because oral penetration of a non-human penis is not in the scope of Japanese mosaic censor. Sakura Sakurada
is an AV idol
known to have appeared in animal pornography, specifically in the AV The Dog Game in 2006. While primarily underground, there are a number of animal pornography actresses who specialize in bestiality movies. A box-office success of the 1980s, 24 Horas de Sexo Explícito featured zoophilia.
In the UK Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 criminalises possession of realistic pornographic images depicting sex with animals (see extreme pornography
), including fake images and simulated acts, as well as images depicting sex with dead animals, where no crime has taken place in the production. The law provides for sentences of up to two years in prison; a sentence of 12 months was handed down in one case in 2011.
Pornography of this sort has become the business of certain spammers
such as Jeremy Jaynes
and owners of some fake TGP
s, who use the promise of "extreme" material as a bid for users' attention.
for animals is usually viewed positively, but most people express concern or disapproval of sexual interest, sometimes very strongly. Criticisms come from a variety of sources, including religious, moral, ethical, psychological, medical and social arguments.
Zoophilia is seen in the United Kingdom as profoundly disturbed behavior (as indicated by the UK Home Office
review on sexual offences in 2002) Andrea Beetz states there is evidence that violent zoosadistic approaches to sex with animals, often characterized by "binding, roping, threatening, beating", are linked to "violent behavior" and could be a "rehearsal for human-directed violence". Beetz argues that animals might be traumatized even by a non-violent, sexual approach from a human.
An argument from human dignity is given by Wesley J. Smith, a senior fellow and Intelligent Design
proponent at the Center for Science and Culture
of the conservative Christian Discovery Institute
: - "such behavior is profoundly degrading and utterly subversive to the crucial understanding that human beings are unique, special, and of the highest moral worth in the known universe--a concept known as 'human exceptionalism
' ... one of the reasons bestiality is condemned through law is that such degrading conduct unacceptably subverts standards of basic human dignity and is an affront to humankind's inestimable importance and intrinsic moral worth." In Africa at one point bestiality was rumored to spread AIDS
, and people avoided the meat or milk of such animals, leading to their being destroyed.
One of the primary critiques of zoophilia is that zoophilic activity is harmful to animals and necessarily abusive, because animals are unable to give or withhold consent;
The Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS) has said that as animals don't have the same capacity for thinking as humans, they are unable to give full consent. The HSUS takes the position that all sexual activity between humans and animals is abusive, whether it involves physical injury or not. In his 1993 article, Dr. Frank Ascione stated that "bestiality may be considered abusive even in cases when physical harm to an animal does not occur." In a 1997 article, Piers Beirne, Professor of Criminology at the University of Southern Maine, points out that 'for genuine consent to sexual relations to be present...both participants must be conscious, fully informed and positive in their desires.'
Miltski believes that "Animals are capable of sexual consent - and even initiation - in their own way." It is not an uncommon practice for dogs to attempt to copulate with ("hump") the legs of people of both genders. Rosenberger (1968) emphasizes that as far as cunnilingus is concerned, dogs require no training, and even Dekkers (1994) and Menninger (1951) admit that sometimes animals take the initiative and do so impulsively. Those supporting zoophilia feel animals sometimes even seem to enjoy the sexual attention or to initiate it. Animals such as dogs can be willing participants in sexual activity with humans, and "seem to enjoy the attention provided by the sexual interaction with a human." Animal owners normally know what their own pets like or do not like. Most people can tell if an animal does not like how it is being petted, because it will move away. An animal that is liking being petted pushes against the hand, and seems to enjoy it. To those defending zoopilia this is seen as a way in which animals give consent, or the fact that a dog might wag its tail.
Defenders of zoophilia argue that consent is irrelevant because practices such as hunting, laboratory testing, and slaughtering animals for meat do not involve the animals' consent.
Utilitarian
philosopher and animal liberation
author Peter Singer
argues that zoophilia is not unethical so long as it involves no harm or cruelty to the animal, Commenting on Singer's article "Heavy Petting," in which he argues that zoophilic activity need not be abusive, and that relationships could form which were mutually enjoyed.
Jacob M. Appel
has also advocated for the decriminalization of bestialty, arguing that lack of consent is not a meaningful concept when discussing human-animal sex. He has written that society does "not describe owning a pet dog as kidnapping, even when the canine is restricted to the inside of a home, although confining a human being in the same manner would clearly be unethical." According to Appel, such relations "may well be neutral or even pleasurable for the animals concerned."
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
ζῷον (zṓion, "animal") and φιλία (philia, "friendship" or "love") is the practice of sex between humans and non-human animals (bestiality), or a preference or fixation on such practice. People who practice zoophilia are known as zoophiles, but they are also known as zoosexuals or simply "zoos".
Although sex with animals is not outlawed in some countries, it is not explicitly condoned anywhere. In most countries, zoophilic acts are illegal under animal abuse
Cruelty to animals
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with...
laws or laws dealing with crimes against nature
Crime against nature
Crime against nature is a legal term used in published cases in the United States since 1814 and normally defined as a form of sexual behavior that is not considered natural and is seen as a punishable offense in dozens of countries and several U.S. states...
; the notion that such acts are "abusive" is disputed.
Terminology
There are three terms that are most commonly used in regards to the subject: zoophilia, bestiality, and zoosexuality. The terms are relatively interchangeable. ZoosadismZoosadism
Zoosadism is a term coined by Ernest Borneman referring to pleasure derived from cruelty to animals. Zoosadism is part of the Macdonald triad, a set of three behaviors that are a precursor to sociopathic behavior.-Research:...
, sodomy and zooerasty are others closely related to the subject but are less homologous to the former or are uncommon usage. "Bestiosexuality" was discussed briefly by Allen (1979), but never became established.
The term "zoophilia" was introduced into the field of research on sexuality in Psychopathia Sexualis
Psychopathia Sexualis
Psychopathia Sexualis may refer to:* Psychopathia Sexualis, an 1886 book about human sexuality by Richard von Krafft-Ebing* Psychopathia Sexualis , an 1843 moral psychology book about human sexuality by Heinrich Kaan...
(1886) by Krafft-Ebing
Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing
-Bibliography :* Heinrich Ammerer: Am Anfang war die Perversion. Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Psychiater und Pionier der modernen Sexualkunde. Styria premium 2011 in der Verlagsgruppe Styria GmbH & Co KG, Wien-Graz-Klagenfurt, ISBN 978-3-222-13321-3....
, who described a number of cases of "violation of animals (bestiality)", as well as "zoophilia erotica", which he defined as a sexual attraction to animal skin or fur.
Zoophilia can refer to sexual activity with non-human animals (bestiality), the desire to do so, or to the paraphilia
Paraphilia
Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her...
of the same name which requires a definite preference for animals over humans as sexual partners.
Some zoophiles and researchers draw a distinction between zoophilia and bestiality, using the former to describe the desire to form sexual relationships with animals, and the latter to describe the sex acts alone.
Masters (1962) uses the term "bestialist" specifically in his discussion of zoosadism, which refers to deriving sexual pleasure from cruelty to animals. Stephanie LaFarge, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the New Jersey Medical School, and Director of Counseling at the ASPCA
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing cruelty towards animals...
, writes that two groups can be distinguished: bestialists, who rape or abuse animals, and zoophiles, who form an emotional and sexual attachment to animals. Williams and Weinberg studied self-defined zoophiles via the internet and found they saw the term as involving concern for the animal's welfare and pleasure, and an emphasis on believing they obtained consent, as opposed to the zoophile's concept of bestialists, who zoophiles defined as a group who focused only on their own gratification. Williams and Weinberg also quoted a British newspaper as saying that zoophilia is the term used by apologists of bestiality.
The term "zoosexual" itself was cited by researchers such as Miletski in the 1990s. It was seen as a value-neutral term which would be less susceptible to being loaded with emotion or rhetoric. Usage of the noun form can be applied to both a "zoosexual (person)" which is synonymous with zoophile, and a "zoosexual act", synonymous with bestiality or depending on the context zoophilia.
Zoosadism and zooerasty
Ernest Bornemann (1990, cited by Rosenbauer 1997) coined the separate term "zoosadism" for those who derive pleasure from inflicting pain on an animal, sometimes with a sexual component. Some horse-rippingHorse-ripping
Horse-ripping, or horse slashing, is an animal cruelty phenomenon involving serious injuries in horses, often involving mutilation of their genitalia and slashing of the flank or neck. It has not been established, however, how often these injuries are caused by human cruelty...
incidents have a sexual connotation.
Krafft-Ebing, same author who introduced zoophilia, used the term "zooerasty" for the paraphilia of exclusive sexual attraction to animals, but the term has fallen out of use.
Anthropomorphism
While in practice the terms "non-human" and "animal" are identical, fiction is filled with anthropomorphicAnthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
characters and races that sit in-between them, such as the various aliens from Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, or Neytiri from Avatar. While the network censors and the majority of people accept anthropomorphic non-humans as legitimate targets for romantic affection, not everyone does. Technically this view is in conflict with legal definitions of bestiality, because the same legal systems define animals as 'vertebrates that aren't human', but no one has ever challenged such imagery being broadcast at prime time. Care should be taken that when discussing fictional or hypothetical cases, both parties are using the same dividing line between person and non-person.
Extent of occurrence
The Kinsey reports controversially rated the percentage of people who had sexual interaction with animals at some point in their lives as 8% for men and 3.6% for women, and claimed it was 40–50 percent in people living near farms, but some later writers dispute the figures, because the study lacked a random sample, and because the prison population was included, causing sampling bias. Martin DubermanMartin Duberman
Martin Bauml Duberman is an American historian, playwright, and gay-rights activist. He is Professor of History Emeritus at Lehman College and the Graduate School of the City University of New York and was the founder of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the CUNY Graduate School...
has written that it is difficult to get a random sample in sexual research, and that even when Paul Gebhard
Paul Gebhard
Paul H. Gebhard, born , was an American anthropologist and sexologist. Born in Rocky Ford, Colorado, he earned a B.S. and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1940 and 1947, respectively. Gebhard followed Alfred Kinsey as the second director of the Kinsey Institute and served in that capacity from 1956 to...
, Kinsey's research successor, removed prison samples from the figures, he found the figures were not significantly changed.
By 1974, the farm population in the USA had declined by 80 percent compared to 1940, reducing the opportunity to live with animals; Hunt's 1974 study suggests that the demographic changes led to a significant change in reported occurrence. Males in 1974 were 4.9% (1948: 8.3%), and in females in 1974 were 1.9% (1953: 3.6%). Miletski believes this is not a reduction in interest but a reduction in opportunity.
Nancy Friday
Nancy Friday
Nancy Colbert Friday is an author who has written on the topics of female sexuality and liberation.'Nancy Friday's successful fantasy revelations ' have seen her placed among 'the feminist erotic pioneers'...
's 1973 book on female sexuality, My Secret Garden
My Secret Garden
My Secret Garden: Women’s Sexual Fantasies is a 1973 book compiled by Nancy Friday, who collected women's fantasies through letters and taped and personal interviews. After including a female sexual fantasy in a novel she submitted for publishing, her editor objected, and Friday shelved the novel...
, comprised around 190 fantasies from different women; of these, 23 involve zoophilic activity.
In one study, psychiatric patients were found to have a statistically significant higher prevalence rate (55 percent) of reported bestiality, both actual sexual contacts (45 percent) and sexual fantasy (30 percent) than the control groups of medical in-patients (10 percent) and psychiatric staff (15 percent). Crépault and Couture (1980) reported that 5.3 percent of the men they surveyed have fantasized about sexual activity with an animal during heterosexual intercourse. A 1982 study suggested that 7.5 percent of 186 university students had interacted sexually with an animal.
Sexual fantasies
Sexual fantasy
A sexual fantasy, also called an erotic fantasy, is a fantasy or pattern of thoughts with the effect of creating or enhancing sexual feelings; in short, it is "almost any mental imagery that is sexually arousing or erotic to [an] individual"...
about zoophilic acts can occur in people who do not wish to experience them in real life. Nancy Friday notes that zoophilia as a fantasy may provide an escape from cultural expectations, restrictions, and judgements in regard to sex. A frequency interest in and sexual excitement at watching animals mate
Mating
In biology, mating is the pairing of opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for copulation. In social animals, it also includes the raising of their offspring. Copulation is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproducing animals for insemination and subsequent internal fertilization...
is cited as an indicator of latent zoophilia by Massen (1994). Masters (1962) says brothel madames used to stage exhibitions of animals mating, as they found it aroused their clientele, and that it can encourage their clients to engage in bestiality.
Several studies have found that women show stronger vaginal responses to films depicting bonobo
Bonobo
The bonobo , Pan paniscus, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee...
copulation than to non-sexual stimuli.
Legal status
In many jurisdictions, all forms of zoophilic acts are prohibited; others outlaw only the mistreatment of animals, without specific mention of sexual activity. In some countries, such as Denmark, bestiality is not outlawed. It is currently illegal in Canada, Netherlands, 32 U.S. states, Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Turkey and Ghana. In the UK, Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (also known as the Extreme Pornography Act) outlaws images of a person performing or appearing to perform an act of intercourse or oral sex with an animal (whether dead or alive). Countries such as Belgium, Germany, and Russia are somewhere in between: they permit sexual activity with animals, but prohibit the promotion of animal-oriented pornography.Laws on zoophilia are often triggered by specific incidents. While some laws are very specific, others employ vague terms such as "sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
" or "bestiality," which lack legal precision and leave it unclear exactly which acts are covered. In the past, some bestiality laws may have been made in the belief that sex with an animal could result in monstrous offspring, as well as offending the community. Current anti-cruelty laws focus more specifically on animal welfare while anti-bestiality law are aimed only at offenses to community standards.
Notable legal views include Sweden, where a 2005 report by the Swedish Animal Welfare Agency for the government expressed concern over the increase in reports of horse-ripping
Horse-ripping
Horse-ripping, or horse slashing, is an animal cruelty phenomenon involving serious injuries in horses, often involving mutilation of their genitalia and slashing of the flank or neck. It has not been established, however, how often these injuries are caused by human cruelty...
incidents. The agency believed current animal cruelty legislation was not sufficient in protecting animals from abuse and needed updating, but concluded that on balance it was not appropriate to call for a ban. In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the 1989 Crimes Bill considered abolishing bestiality as a criminal offense, and instead viewing it as a mental health issue, but they did not, and people can still be prosecuted for it.
Some countries once had laws against single males living with female animals, such as Alpacas. Copulating with a female alpaca is still specifically against the law in Peru.
Until 2005, there was a farm near Enumclaw, Washington
Enumclaw, Washington
Enumclaw is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,669 at the 2010 census.The Enumclaw Plateau, on which the city resides, was formed by a volcanic mudflow from Mount Rainier approximately 5,700 years ago....
that was an “animal brothel”, where people paid to have sex with animals. After an incident on July 2, 2005, when a man was pronounced dead in the emergency room of the Enumclaw community hospital after having been sodomized by a horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
, the state legislature
Washington State Legislature
The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bipartisan, bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, with 49 Senators.The State Legislature...
of the State of Washington, which had been one of the few states in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
without a law against bestiality, within six months passed a bill making bestiality illegal.
Health and safety
Infections that are transmitted from animals to humans are called zoonosesZoonosis
A zoonosis or zoonoseis any infectious disease that can be transmitted from non-human animals to humans or from humans to non-human animals . In a study of 1415 pathogens known to affect humans, 61% were zoonotic...
. Some zoonoses may be transferred through casual contact, but others are much more readily transferred by activities that expose humans to the semen
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
, vaginal fluids, urine
Urine
Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
, saliva
Saliva
Saliva , referred to in various contexts as spit, spittle, drivel, drool, or slobber, is the watery substance produced in the mouths of humans and most other animals. Saliva is a component of oral fluid. In mammals, saliva is produced in and secreted from the three pairs of major salivary glands,...
, feces
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
and blood of animals. Examples of zoonoses are Brucellosis
Brucellosis
Brucellosis, also called Bang's disease, Crimean fever, Gibraltar fever, Malta fever, Maltese fever, Mediterranean fever, rock fever, or undulant fever, is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unsterilized milk or meat from infected animals or close contact with their secretions...
, Q fever
Q fever
Q fever is a disease caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii, a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. This organism is uncommon but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats and other domestic mammals, including cats and dogs...
, leptospirosis
Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is caused by infection with bacteria of the genus Leptospira, and affects humans as well as other mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles.The...
, and toxocariasis
Toxocariasis
-History of discovery:Werner described a parasitic nematode in dogs in 1782 which he named Ascaris canis. Johnston determined that what Werner had described was actually a member of the genus Toxocara established by Stiles in 1905. Fữlleborn speculated that T canis larvae might cause granulomatous...
. Therefore sexual activity with animals is, in some instances, a high risk activity. Allergic reactions
Allergy
An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...
to animal semen may occur, including anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis is defined as "a serious allergic reaction that is rapid in onset and may cause death". It typically results in a number of symptoms including throat swelling, an itchy rash, and low blood pressure...
. Bites and other trauma from penetration or trampling may occur.
Non-sexual zoophilia
The love of animals is not necessarily sexual in nature. In psychologyPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
the word "zoophilia" is sometimes used without sexual implications. Being fond of animals in general or pets in particular is accepted in Western society, and although sometimes ridiculed, it is usually respected or tolerated. However, the word zoophilia is usually used to mean a sexual preference towards animals which is acted upon, a paraphilia
Paraphilia
Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her...
. People who identify as zoophiles may feel their love for animals is romantic rather than purely sexual, and say this makes them different from those committing entirely sexually motivated acts of bestiality. They may not act on their sexual attraction to animals.
Zoophile community
An online survey which had recruited participants over the internet concluded that prior to the arrival of widespread computer networkingComputer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
, most zoophiles would not have known others, and for the most part engaged secretly, or told only trusted friends, family or partners. The internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and its predecessors made people able to search for topics and information in areas which were not otherwise easily accessible and to talk with relative safety and anonymity. Because of the diary-like intimacy of blogs and the anonymity, zoophiles had the ideal opportunity in which to come out and express their sexuality. As with many other alternate lifestyles
Alternative lifestyle
An alternative lifestyle is a lifestyle generally perceived to be outside the cultural norm. Usually, but not always, it implies an affinity or identification within some matching subculture...
, broader networks began forming in the 1980s when networked social groups
Online community
An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...
became more common at home and elsewhere. Such developments in general were already described by Markoff in 1990; computers meant people thousands of miles apart could feel they had the intimacy of being in a small village together The popular newsgroup alt.sex.bestiality
Alt.sex
alt.sex is a Usenet newsgroup that was popular in the 1990s. An October 1993 survey by Brian Reid reported an estimated a worldwide readership of 3.3 millions for the newsgroup, that being 8% of the total Usenet readership, with 67% of all Usenet nodes carrying the group and traffic of 2,300...
said to be in the top 1%" of newsgroup interest, i.e. 50 out of around 5000, reputedly started in humor along with personal bulletin board
Bulletin board
A bulletin board is a surface intended for the posting of public messages, for example, to advertise things to buy or sell, announce events, or provide information...
s and talker
Talker
A talker is a chat system that people use to talk to each other over the Internet. Dating back to the 1980s, they were a predecessor of instant messaging....
s, chief among them Sleepy's multiple worlds
Talker
A talker is a chat system that people use to talk to each other over the Internet. Dating back to the 1980s, they were a predecessor of instant messaging....
, Lintilla, and Planes of Existence were among the first group media of this kind in the late 1980s and early 1990s, rapidly drawing together zoophiles, some of whom also created personal and social website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s and forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s. By around 1992–1994 it became accurate to say that a wide social net had evolved. This was initially centered around the above newsgroup
Newsgroup
A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on...
which during the six years following 1990 had matured into a discussion and support group. The newsgroup included information about health issues, laws governing zoophilia, bibliography, and community events. Since the 1990s, other zoophile websites have been created and have grown in size; for example, the zoophile website beastforum.com
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
has nearly one million members as of October 2011.
Weinberg and Williams observe that the internet can socially integrate an incredibly large number of people. In Kinsey’s day contacts between animal lovers were more localized and limited to male compatriots in a particular rural community. Further, while Kinsey’s farm boys might have been part of a rural culture in which sex with animals was a part, the sex itself did not define the community. The zoophile community is not particularly large compared to other subcultures which make use of the internet, so Weinberg and Williams felt its aims and beliefs would change little as it grows. Unlike what Ross et al. (2000) suggested about gay men, that those particularly active on the internet may not be aware of a wider subculture, as there is not much of a wider subculture, Weinberg and Williams felt the virtual group would lead the development of the subculture. There also exist website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s which aim to provide support and social assistance to zoophiles (including resources to help and rescue abused or mistreated animals), but these are not usually publicized. Such work is often undertaken as needed by individuals and friends, within social networks, and by word of mouth. One notable early attempt at creating a zoophile support structure focused on social and psychological support was the newsgroup
Newsgroup
A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on...
soc.support.zoophilia which was proposed in 1994 but narrowly failed to meet the 2/3 majority needed to be created. The German support group "Interessengemeinschaft Zoophiler Menschen ("zoophile interest group") was a support group.
Perspectives on zoophilia
Psychological, psychiatric, and research perspectives
Zoophilia has been partly discussed by several sciences: PsychologyPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
(the study of the human mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
), sexology
Sexology
Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behavior, and function. The term does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sex, such as political analysis or social criticism....
(a relatively new discipline primarily studying human sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
), ethology
Ethology
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a sub-topic of zoology....
(the study of animal behavior), and anthrozoology
Anthrozoology
Anthrozoology is the study of human-animal interaction. It is a modern interdisciplinary and burgeoning field that overlaps with a number of other disciplines, including anthropology, ethology, medicine, psychology, veterinary medicine and zoology...
(the study of human-animal interactions and bonds).
The nature of animal minds, animal mental processes and structures, and animal self-awareness
Self-awareness
Self-awareness is the capacity for introspection and the ability to reconcile oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals...
, perception
Perception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...
, emotion in animals
Emotion in animals
There is no scientific consensus on emotion in animals, that is, what emotions certain species of animals, including humans, feel. The debate concerns primarily mammals and birds, although emotions have also been postulated for other vertebrates and even for some invertebrates.Animal lovers,...
, and "map of the world", are studied within animal cognition
Animal cognition
Animal cognition is the title given to the study of the mental capacities of non-human animals. It has developed out of comparative psychology, but has also been strongly influenced by the approach of ethology, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology...
and also explored within various specialized branches of neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
such as neuroethology
Neuroethology
Neuroethology is the evolutionary and comparative approach to the study of animal behavior and its underlying mechanistic control by the nervous system...
.
Zoophilia may also be covered to some degree by other fields such as ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
and animal welfare
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
. It may also be touched upon by sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
which looks both at zoosadism in examining patterns and issues related to sexual abuse
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
and at non-sexual zoophilia in examining the role of animals as emotional support and companionship in human lives, and may fall within the scope of psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
if it becomes necessary to consider its significance in a clinical context.
The Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine (Vol. 18, February 2011) states that sexual contact with animals is almost never a clinically significant problem by itself; it also states that there are several kinds of zoophiles:
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|
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Additionally, zoophiles in categories 2, 3, and 8 (romantic zoophiles, zoophilic fantisizers, and regular zoophiles) are the most common, while zoophiles found in categories 6 and 7 (sadistic bestials and opportunistic zoophiles) are the least common.
Zoophilia may reflect childhood experimentation, sexual abuse or lack of other avenues of sexual expression. Exclusive desire for animals rather than humans is considered a rare paraphilia, and sufferers often have other paraphilias with which they present. Zoophiles will not usually seek help for their condition, and so do not come to the attention of psychiatrists for zoophilia itself. It was placed in the classification "paraphilia
Paraphilia
Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her...
s not otherwise specified." in the DSM-III and IIII. The World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
takes the same position, listing a sexual preference for animals in its ICD
ICD
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems is a medical classification that provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or disease...
-10
ICD-10
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision is a medical classification list for the coding of diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases, as maintained by the...
as "other disorder of sexual preference".
The DSM-IV (TR) (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
) requires that the individual does not receive the diagnosis of zoophilia, as with most other paraphilias, unless it is accompanied by distress or interference with normal functioning on the part of the individual.
The first detailed studies of zoophilia date from prior to 1910. Peer reviewed research into zoophilia in its own right started around 1960. However, a number of the most oft-quoted studies, such as Miletski, were not published in peer-reviewed
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
journals. There have been several significant modern books, from Masters (1962) to Beetz (2002).
More recently, research has engaged three further directions - the speculation that at least some animals seem to enjoy a zoophilic relationship assuming sadism
Sadism and masochism
Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...
is not present, and can form an affectionate bond. Similar findings are also reported by Kinsey (cited by Masters), and others earlier in history. Miletski (1999) notes that information on sex with animals on the internet is often very emphatic as to what the zoophile believes gives pleasure and how to identify what is perceived as consent
Consent
Consent refers to the provision of approval or agreement, particularly and especially after thoughtful consideration.- Types of consent :*Implied consent is a controversial form of consent which is not expressly granted by a person, but rather inferred from a person's actions and the facts and...
beforehand. For instance, Jonathan Balcombe says animals do things for pleasure. But he himself says pet owners will be unimpressed by this statement, as this is not news to them.
Beetz described the phenomenon of zoophilia/bestiality as being somewhere between crime, paraphilia and love, although she says that most research has been based on criminological
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
reports, so the cases have frequently involved violence and psychiatric illness. She says only a few recent studies have taken data from volunteers in the community. As with all volunteer surveys and sexual ones in particular, these studies have a potential for self-selection
Self-selection
In statistics, self-selection bias arises in any situation in which individuals select themselves into a group, causing a biased sample with nonprobability sampling...
bias.
Medical research suggests that some zoophiles only become aroused by a specific species (such as horses), some zoophiles become aroused by multiple species (which may or may not include humans), and some zoophiles are not attracted to humans at all.
Religious perspectives
Leviticus 18
Leviticus 18 is a chapter of the Biblical book of Leviticus. It narrates part of the instructions given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. The chapter deals with a number of sexual activities considered 'unclean' or 'abominable'...
(Lev 18:23: "And you shall not lie with any beast and defile yourself with it, neither shall any woman give herself to a beast to lie with it: it is a perversion." RSV) and 20:15-16 ("If a man lies with a beast, he shall be put to death; and you shall kill the beast. If a woman approaches any beast and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the beast; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them." RSV) are cited by Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
theologians as categorical denunciation of bestiality.
In Part II of his Summa Theologica
Summa Theologica
The Summa Theologiæ is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas , and although unfinished, "one of the classics of the history of philosophy and one of the most influential works of Western literature." It is intended as a manual for beginners in theology and a compendium of all of the main...
, medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
ranked various "unnatural vices" (sex acts resulting in "venereal pleasure" rather than procreation) by degrees of sinfulness, concluding that "the most grievous is the sin of bestiality." Some Christian theologians extend Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
's view that even having thoughts of adultery is sinful to imply that thoughts of committing bestial acts are likewise sinful.
A number of Islamic hadith condemn zoophilia:
Whoever comes unto an animal, kill him and kill it with him.
Narrator: Abu Huraira and Ibn Abbas.
Reference: Sahih Al-Jami'a, page or number: 5938.
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
scriptures to religious figures engaging in symbolic sexual activity with animals such as explicit depictions of people having sex with animals included amongst the thousands of sculptures of "Life events" on the exterior of the temple complex
Hindu temple
A Mandir, Devalayam, Devasthanam, or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism...
at Khajuraho
Khajuraho
The Khajuraho Group of Monuments in Khajuraho , a town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District, about southeast of New Delhi, are one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for...
. The depictions are largely symbolic depictions of the sexualization of some animals and are not meant to be taken literally.
In the Hindu tradition, having sex with a sacred cow is believed to bring good fortune. In the Dharmaśāstra
Dharmasastra
Dharmaśāstra is a genre of Sanskrit texts and refers to the śāstra, or Indic branch of learning, pertaining to Hindu dharma, religious and legal duty. The voluminous textual corpus of Dharmaśāstra is primarily a product of the Brahmanical tradition in India and represents the elaborate scholastic...
tradition, the Hindu Visnu Smrti says that having sex with an animal is not wrong if certain conditions are met. And in the Manusmrti, mating between humans and animals is permitted:
"Some wise men value the seed, others the field, and still others the seed and the field. Since sages have been born in female animals by the power of the seed, and were honored and valued, the seed is valued (Manu 10.70-72)"
Maya was the mother of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, the founder of Buddhism. According to legend, Maya had sex with a white elephant
White elephant (pachyderm)
A white elephant is a rare kind of elephant, but not a distinct species. Although often depicted as snow white, their skin is normally a soft reddish-brown, turning a light pink when wet. They have fair eyelashes and toenails....
and was impregnated by it.
Historical and cultural perspectives
The phenomenon of sexual intercourse with animals is not new. Instances of this behavior have been found in the Bible. In a cave painting from at least 8000 BC in the Northern Italian Val Camonica
Val Camonica
Val Camonica is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, about 90 km long. It starts from the Tonale Pass, at 1883 metres above sea level and ends at Corna Trentapassi, in the comune of Pisogne, near Lake Iseo...
a man is shown about to penetrate an animal. Raymond Christinger interprets that as a show of power of a tribal chief, and so we do not know if this practice was then more acceptable, and if the scene depicted was usual or unusual or whether it was symbolic or imaginary. The Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art says the scene may be humorous, as the penetrating man seems to be waving cheerfully with his hand at the same time. Potters seem to have spent time depicting the practice, but this may be because they found the idea amusing. Dr "Jacobus X", said to be a nom-de-plume for a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
author, said this was clearly "before any known taboos against sex with animals existed." Marc Epprecht states that authors such as Jacobus X do not deserve respect because their methodology is based on hearsay, and was designed for voyeuristic titilation of the reader. Masters said that since pre-historic man is prehistoric it goes without saying that we know little of his sexual behaviour, depictions in cave paintings may only show the artist's subjective preoccupations or thoughts.
Masters feels that in antiquity bestiality was widespread, and believed it was often incorporated into religious ritual. He believes it to have taken place in ancient Egypt, claiming that the zoomorphic forms of Ancient Egyptian gods ensures that bestiality would have been part of their rites. There is no evidence that the presence of gods with zoomorphic attributes ensures this in itself. However, Pindar, Herodotus, and Plutarch claimed the Egyptians engaged in ritual congress with goats. Such claims about other cultures do not necessarily reflect anything about which the author had evidence, but be a form of propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
or xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
, similar to blood libel
Blood libel
Blood libel is a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, usually Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays...
.
Bestiality was accepted in some cultures indigenously, such as North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Sexual intercourse between humans and non-human animals was common among Native American tribes such as the Hopi Indians
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
. Voget describes the sexual lives of young Native Americans as "rather inclusive," including bestiality. In addition, the Copper Inuit
Copper Inuit
Copper Inuit are a Canadian Inuit group who live north of the tree line, in Nunavut's Kitikmeot Region and the Northwest Territories's Inuvik Region. Most historically lived in the area around Coronation Gulf, on Victoria Island, and southern Banks Island.Their western boundary was Wise Point,...
people had "no aversion to intercourse with live animals".
Several cultures built temples (Khajuraho
Khajuraho
The Khajuraho Group of Monuments in Khajuraho , a town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District, about southeast of New Delhi, are one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) or other structures (Sagaholm
Sagaholm
Sagaholm is Bronze Age cairn located just south of Jönköping, Sweden.The site had a large barrow from the early Nordic Bronze Age. It had a circle of slabs of sandstone, probably as many as 100. The Bronze Age graves were built in the form of a mound...
, barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) with zoophilic carvings on the exterior, however at Khajuraho
Khajuraho
The Khajuraho Group of Monuments in Khajuraho , a town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District, about southeast of New Delhi, are one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for...
these depictions are not on the interior, perhaps depicting that these are things that belong to the profane world rather than the spiritual world, and thus are to be left outside.
In the West, the most explicit records of sex involving humans and animals activity are associated with reports of the murderous sadism, torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
of the Roman games and circus
Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue located in Rome, Italy. Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire...
, in which some authors estimate that several hundreds of thousands died. Masters believes beasts were specially trained to copulate with women: if the girls or women were unwilling then the animal would attempt rape. A surprising range of creatures was used for such purposes, and taught how to copulate vaginally or anally. Representations of scenes from the sexual lives of the gods, such as Pasiphaë and the Bull
Pasiphaë
In Greek mythology, Pasiphaë , "wide-shining" was the daughter of Helios, the Sun, by the eldest of the Oceanids, Perse; Like her doublet Europa, her origins were in the East, in her case at Colchis, the palace of the Sun; she was given in marriage to King Minos of Crete. With Minos, she was the...
, were highly popular, often causing extreme suffering, injury or death. On occasion, the more ferocious beasts were permitted to kill and (if desired) devour their victims afterwards.
In the Church-oriented culture of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
zoophilic activity was met with execution, typically burning, and death to the animals involved either the same way or by hanging, as "both a violation of Biblical edicts
Religion and sexuality
Most world religions have sought to address the moral issues that arise from people's sexuality in society and in human interactions. Each major religion has developed moral codes covering issues of sexuality, morality, ethics etc...
and a degradation of man as a spiritual being rather than one that is purely animal and carnal. Some witches were accused of having congress with the devil in the form of an animal. As with all accusations and confessions extracted under torture in the witch trials in Early Modern Europe
Witch trials in Early Modern Europe
The Witch trials in the Early Modern period were a period of witch hunts between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, when across Early Modern Europe, and to some extent in the European colonies in North America, there was a widespread hysteria that malevolent Satanic witches were operating as...
, their validity cannot be ascertained.
Media discussion
Because of its controversial nature, different countries vary in they treat discussion of bestiality. Often sexual matters are the subject of legal or regulatory requirement. For example, in 2005 the UK broadcasting regulator (OFCOMOfcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
) updated its code stating that freedom of expression is at the heart of any democratic state. Adult audiences should be informed as to what they will be viewing or hearing, and the young, who cannot make a fully informed choice for themselves, should be protected. Hence a watershed
Watershed (television)
In television, the term watershed denotes the time period in a television schedule during which programs with adult content can air....
and other precautions were set up for explicit sexual material, to protect young people. Zoophile activity and other sexual matters may be discussed, but only in an appropriate context and manner.
The IPT was replaced after the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act in 1993, replaced with bodies designed to allow both more debate and increased consistency, and possession and supply of material that it is decided are objectionable was made a criminal offence.
References to bestiality are not uncommon in some media, usually comedy, especially cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
series such as Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
(episode: "Screwed the Pooch") and South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
(Recurring themes), satirical comedy
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
such as Borat
Borat
Borat Sagdiyev is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...
, and films (especially shock exploitation film
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
s), although a few broadcasters such as Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
(who joked about bestiality dial-a-date on NBC) and Tom Binns
Tom Binns
Tom Binns is a British writer, actor, stand-up comic, television presenter and radio presenter.-Career:Binns was nominated at the Edinburgh Festival for the Edinburgh Comedy Award 2007 - as the hospital radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury....
(whose Xfm London
Xfm London
Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media....
Breakfast Show resulted on one occasion in a live discussion about the ethics of zoophilic pornographic movies at peak child listening time) have been reprimanded by their stations for doing so. Mention in the media is often comical in nature. In literature, American novelist Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
refers to a photo of a woman attempting sexual intercourse with a Shetland Pony in The Sirens of Titan
The Sirens of Titan
The Sirens of Titan is a Hugo Award-nominated novel by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., first published in 1959. His second novel, it involves issues of free will, omniscience, and the overall purpose of human history...
, Slaughterhouse Five, and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine, is a novel written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., published in 1965. The plot focuses on Eliot Rosewater, the primary trustee of the philanthropic Rosewater Foundation, whom one of the family lawyers, Norman Mushari, is attempting to have declared...
. Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
also refers to a photo of a woman copulating with a Shetland Pony in Flow My Tears The Policeman Said. John Irving
John Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
's novel The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules is a 1985 novel by John Irving. It is Irving's sixth published novel, and has been adapted into a film of the same name and a stage play by Peter Parnell.-Plot:...
repeatedly mentions a pornographic photograph depicting oral sex on a pony. In Clerks II
Clerks II
Clerks II is a 2006 American comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, sequel to his 1994 film Clerks, and his sixth and latest feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse...
Randal orders a donkey show as a going away present for his best friend Dante, in which it is referred to as "interspecies erotica" by the male performer. In June 2011, comedian Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
briefly discussed dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
-oriented zoophilia in a segment about same-sex marriage in New York.
Pornography
PornographyPornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
involving sex with animals is widely illegal, even in most countries where the act itself is not explicitly outlawed. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, zoophilic pornography (in common with other pornography) would be considered obscene if it did not meet the standards of the Miller Test
Miller test
The Miller test , is the United States Supreme Court's test for determining whether speech or expression can be labeled obscene, in which case it is not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and can be prohibited.-History and details:The Miller test was developed in the...
and therefore is not openly sold, mailed, distributed or imported across state boundaries or within states which prohibit it. Under U.S. law, 'distribution' includes transmission across the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Production and mere possession appear to be legal, however. U.S. prohibitions on distribution of sexual or obscene materials are in some doubt, having been ruled unconstitutional
Constitutionality
Constitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution. Acts that are not in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution are deemed to be ultra vires.-See also:*ultra vires*Company law*Constitutional law...
in United States v. Extreme Associates
United States v. Extreme Associates
United States v. Extreme Associates is a 2005 U.S. law case revolving around issues of obscenity. Extreme Associates, a pornography company owned by Rob Zicari and his wife Lizzy Borden , was prosecuted by the federal government for alleged distribution of obscenity across statelines...
(a judgement which was overturned on appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
, December 2005). Similar restrictions apply in Germany (see above). In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
the possession, making or distribution of material promoting bestiality is illegal.
The potential use of media for pornographic movie
Pornographic movie
Pornographic films are motion pictures with the purpose of promoting sexual arousal in the viewer, often featuring depictions of sexual activity. They are sold and rented out on DVD, shown through Internet and special channels and pay-per-view on cable and satellite, and in adult...
s was seen from the start of the era of silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. Polissons and Galipettes (re-released 2002 as "The Good Old Naughty Days
The Good Old Naughty Days
The Good Old Naughty Days , released in 2002, is a compilation from over 300 recently discovered film clips from silent hardcore pornographic films made between 1905 and 1930, re-edited by director Michel Reilhac, with a new soundtrack by Eric Le Guen...
") is a collection of early French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
silent films for brothel use, including some animal pornography, dating from around 1905 – 1930.
Material featuring sex with animals is widely available on the Internet, due to their ease of production, and because production and sale is legal in countries such as the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Prior to the advent of mass-market full-color glossy magazines such as Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, so-called Tijuana Bible
Tijuana bible
Tijuana bibles were pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. Their popularity peaked during the Great Depression era...
s were a form of pornographic tract popular in America, sold as anonymous underground publications typically comprising a small number of stapled comic-strips representing characters and celebrities.
The promotion of "stars" began with the Danish Bodil Joensen
Bodil Joensen
Bodil Joensen or Bodil Jørgensen was a Danish pornographic actress born in the village Hundige, near Copenhagen...
, in the period of 1969–72, along with other porn actors such as the Americans Linda Lovelace
Linda Lovelace
Linda Susan Boreman , better known by her stage name Linda Lovelace, was an American pornographic actress who was famous for her performance of deep throat fellatio in the enormously successful 1972 hardcore porn film Deep Throat...
(Dogarama, 1969), Chessie Moore (multiple films, c. 1994), Kerri Downs (three films, 1998) and Calina Lynx (aka Kelly G'raffe) (two films, 1998). Another early film to attain great infamy was "Animal Farm
Animal Farm (video)
Animal Farm is the street name given to an infamous underground pornographic film containing scenes of explicit bestiality that was smuggled into Great Britain in the late 1970s or early 1980s...
", smuggled into Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
around 1980 without details as to makers or provenance. The film was later traced to a crude juxtaposition of smuggled cuts from many of Bodil Joensen's 1970s Danish movies. Into the 1980s the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
took the lead, creating figures like "Wilma" and the "Dutch Sisters". In 1980s, "bestiality" was featured in Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
adult films with actresses like Denise Dior, Francesca Ray, and Marina Hedman
Marina Hedman
Marina Hedman Bellis, also known as Marina Frajese and Marina Lotar is a Swedish former pornographic actress and model....
, manifested early in the softcore flick Bestialità in 1976.
Today, in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, where production faces no legal limitations, zoophilic materials have become a substantial industry that produces numerous films and magazines, particularly for Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
companies such as Topscore and Book & Film International, and the genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
has stars such as "Hector", a Great Dane
Great Dane
The Great Dane , also known as German Mastiff or Danish Hound , is a breed of domestic dog known for its giant size...
starring in several films. Many Hungarian mainstream performers also appeared anonymously in animal pornography in their early careers. For example, Suzy Spark.
In Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, animal pornography is used to bypass censorship laws, often featuring Japanese and Russian female models performing fellatio
Fellatio
Fellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
on animals, because oral penetration of a non-human penis is not in the scope of Japanese mosaic censor. Sakura Sakurada
Sakura Sakurada
is a Japanese actress, model and adult video star who has also used the name for still photo shoots. Her long and prolific career and international recognition mark her as an AV Idol.-Early career - "Uncensored Movies":...
is an AV idol
AV Idol
An AV idol is a Japanese idol who works in the pornographic business, often both as an actress as well as a model as the video performances have a wide range, from just the idol strolling around their house doing chores in bikinis to hardcore porn...
known to have appeared in animal pornography, specifically in the AV The Dog Game in 2006. While primarily underground, there are a number of animal pornography actresses who specialize in bestiality movies. A box-office success of the 1980s, 24 Horas de Sexo Explícito featured zoophilia.
In the UK Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 criminalises possession of realistic pornographic images depicting sex with animals (see extreme pornography
Extreme pornography
Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is a piece of legislation in the United Kingdom that criminalises possession of what it refers to as "extreme pornographic images". The law was enacted from 26 January 2009...
), including fake images and simulated acts, as well as images depicting sex with dead animals, where no crime has taken place in the production. The law provides for sentences of up to two years in prison; a sentence of 12 months was handed down in one case in 2011.
Pornography of this sort has become the business of certain spammers
Spam (electronic)
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...
such as Jeremy Jaynes
Jeremy Jaynes
Jeremy Jaynes was a prolific e-mail spammer, broadcasting junk e-mail from his home in North Carolina, United States. He became the first person in the world to be convicted of "felony spam," i.e., convicted of a felony for sending spam without allegation of any accompanying illegal conduct such...
and owners of some fake TGP
Thumbnail gallery post
A thumbnail gallery post is a common type of ad-driven website that provides links to free Internet pornography. In affiliate marketing terms, TGPs are the affiliates that drive new traffic to the product producers, paysites...
s, who use the promise of "extreme" material as a bid for users' attention.
Debate over zoophilia or zoophilic relations
Because of its controversial nature, people have developed arguments both for and against zoophilia.Arguments against zoophilia
Platonic lovePlatonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
for animals is usually viewed positively, but most people express concern or disapproval of sexual interest, sometimes very strongly. Criticisms come from a variety of sources, including religious, moral, ethical, psychological, medical and social arguments.
Zoophilia is seen in the United Kingdom as profoundly disturbed behavior (as indicated by the UK Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
review on sexual offences in 2002) Andrea Beetz states there is evidence that violent zoosadistic approaches to sex with animals, often characterized by "binding, roping, threatening, beating", are linked to "violent behavior" and could be a "rehearsal for human-directed violence". Beetz argues that animals might be traumatized even by a non-violent, sexual approach from a human.
An argument from human dignity is given by Wesley J. Smith, a senior fellow and Intelligent Design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
proponent at the Center for Science and Culture
Center for Science and Culture
The Center for Science and Culture , formerly known as the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture , is part of the Discovery Institute, a conservative Christian think tank in the United States...
of the conservative Christian Discovery Institute
Discovery Institute
The Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
: - "such behavior is profoundly degrading and utterly subversive to the crucial understanding that human beings are unique, special, and of the highest moral worth in the known universe--a concept known as 'human exceptionalism
Human exceptionalism
Human exceptionalism refers to a belief that human beings have special status in nature based on their unique capacities. This belief is the grounding for some naturalistic concepts of human rights.-Apologetics:...
' ... one of the reasons bestiality is condemned through law is that such degrading conduct unacceptably subverts standards of basic human dignity and is an affront to humankind's inestimable importance and intrinsic moral worth." In Africa at one point bestiality was rumored to spread AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, and people avoided the meat or milk of such animals, leading to their being destroyed.
One of the primary critiques of zoophilia is that zoophilic activity is harmful to animals and necessarily abusive, because animals are unable to give or withhold consent;
The Humane Society of the United States
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2009, HSUS reported assets of over US$160 million....
(HSUS) has said that as animals don't have the same capacity for thinking as humans, they are unable to give full consent. The HSUS takes the position that all sexual activity between humans and animals is abusive, whether it involves physical injury or not. In his 1993 article, Dr. Frank Ascione stated that "bestiality may be considered abusive even in cases when physical harm to an animal does not occur." In a 1997 article, Piers Beirne, Professor of Criminology at the University of Southern Maine, points out that 'for genuine consent to sexual relations to be present...both participants must be conscious, fully informed and positive in their desires.'
Arguments for zoophilia
Brian Cutteridge states the following regarding this argument:"Animal sexual autonomy is regularly violated for human financial gain through procedures such as [artificial insemination]. Such procedures are probably more disturbing physically and psychologically than acts of zoophilia would be, yet the issue of consent on the part of the animal is never raised in the discussion of such procedures. To confine the 'right' of any animal strictly to acts of zoophilia is thus to make a law [against zoophilia] based not on reason but on moral prejudice, and to breach the constitutional rights of zoophiles to due process and equality before the law. [...] Laws which criminalize zoophilia based on societal abhorrence of such acts rather than any real harm caused by such acts are an unjust and unconstitutional infringement on individual liberty."
Miltski believes that "Animals are capable of sexual consent - and even initiation - in their own way." It is not an uncommon practice for dogs to attempt to copulate with ("hump") the legs of people of both genders. Rosenberger (1968) emphasizes that as far as cunnilingus is concerned, dogs require no training, and even Dekkers (1994) and Menninger (1951) admit that sometimes animals take the initiative and do so impulsively. Those supporting zoophilia feel animals sometimes even seem to enjoy the sexual attention or to initiate it. Animals such as dogs can be willing participants in sexual activity with humans, and "seem to enjoy the attention provided by the sexual interaction with a human." Animal owners normally know what their own pets like or do not like. Most people can tell if an animal does not like how it is being petted, because it will move away. An animal that is liking being petted pushes against the hand, and seems to enjoy it. To those defending zoopilia this is seen as a way in which animals give consent, or the fact that a dog might wag its tail.
Defenders of zoophilia argue that consent is irrelevant because practices such as hunting, laboratory testing, and slaughtering animals for meat do not involve the animals' consent.
Utilitarian
Preference utilitarianism
Preference utilitarianism is one of the most popular forms of utilitarianism in contemporary philosophy. Unlike classical utilitarianism, which defines right actions as those that maximize pleasure and minimize pain, preference utilitarianism promotes actions that fulfill the interests of those...
philosopher and animal liberation
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
author Peter Singer
Peter Singer
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne...
argues that zoophilia is not unethical so long as it involves no harm or cruelty to the animal, Commenting on Singer's article "Heavy Petting," in which he argues that zoophilic activity need not be abusive, and that relationships could form which were mutually enjoyed.
Jacob M. Appel
Jacob M. Appel
Jacob M. Appel is an American author, bioethicist and social critic. He is best known for his short stories, his work as a playwright, and his writing in the fields of reproductive ethics, organ donation, neuroethics and euthanasia....
has also advocated for the decriminalization of bestialty, arguing that lack of consent is not a meaningful concept when discussing human-animal sex. He has written that society does "not describe owning a pet dog as kidnapping, even when the canine is restricted to the inside of a home, although confining a human being in the same manner would clearly be unethical." According to Appel, such relations "may well be neutral or even pleasurable for the animals concerned."
Academic and professional
- Andrea Beetz Ph.D.: Bestiality and Zoophilia (2005), ISBN 978-1-55753-412-5
- Andrea Beetz Ph.D.: Love, Violence, and Sexuality in Relationships between Humans and Animals (2002), ISBN 978-3-8322-0020-6
- Christopher M. Earls and Martin L. Lalumiere: A Case Study of Preferential Bestiality (Zoophilia), 2007, Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 14(1), 83-88.
- Professors Colin J. Williams and Martin S. Weinberg: Zoophilia in Men: a study of sexual interest in animals in: Archives of sexual behavior, Vol. 32, No.6, December 2003, pp. 523–535
- Ellison, Alfred, Sex Between Humans & Animals: The Psycho-Mythic Meaning of Bestiality, San Diego: Academy Press, 1970. [paperback, volumes 1 and 2]
- Hani Miletski Ph.D.: Bestiality - Zoophilia: An exploratory study, Diss., The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. - San Francisco, CA, October 1999
- Hani Miletski Ph.D.: Bestiality/zoophilia - An exploratory study, 2000, Scandinavian Journal of Sexology, 3(4), 149-150.
- Hani Miletski Ph.D.: Understanding Bestiality and Zoophilia, 2002, available at Hani Miletski's Homepage (Book review by Journal of Sex Research, May 2003)
- Hans Hentig Ph.D.: Soziologie der Zoophilen Neigung (Sociology of the Zoophile Preference) (1962)
- Harris, Edwin. Animals as Sex Partners, 1969
- Havelock EllisHavelock EllisHenry Havelock Ellis, known as Havelock Ellis , was a British physician and psychologist, writer, and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He was co-author of the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and...
, Studies in the psychology of sex, Vol. V (1927) ch.4
covering Animals as Sources of Erotic Symbolism—Mixoscopic Zoophilia—Erotic Zoophilia—Zooerastia—Bestiality—The Conditions that Favor Bestiality—Its Wide Prevalence Among Primitive Peoples and Among Peasants—The Primitive Conception of Animals—The Goat—The Influence of Familiarity with Animals—Congress Between Women and Animals—The Social Reaction Against Bestiality. online version - Josef Massen: Zoophilie - Die sexuelle Liebe zu Tieren (Zoophilia - the sexual love of/for animals) (1994), ISBN 978-3-930387-15-1
- Kahn, Richard. Zoophilia and Bestiality: Cross-cultural Perspectives. In Marc Bekoff (ed.), Encyclopedia of Human-Animal Relationships. Greenwood Press, (2007).
- Lindzey, A. "On Zoophilia". The Animals' Agenda, Westport: May/Jun 2000. Vol. 20, Iss. 3; p. 29.
- Podberscek, Anthony L, Elizabeth S. Paul, James A. Serpell eds. Companion Animals and Us : Exploring the Relationships between People and Pets, Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
. ISBN 978-0-521-63113 - Roland Grassberger Ph.D.: Die Unzucht mit Tieren (Sex with Animals) (1968)
- S. Dittert, O. Seidl and M. Soyka: Zoophilie zwischen Pathologie und Normalität: Darstellung dreier Kasuistiken und einer Internetbefragung (Zoophilia as a special case of paraphilia: presentation of three case reports and an Internet survey) - in: Der Nervenarzt : Organ der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie und Nervenheilkunde; Organ der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neurologie, 2004, published online in German June 10, 2004 (PDF) English machine translation
Other books
- Midas Dekkers: Dearest Pet: On Bestiality, ISBN 978-1-85984-310-9
- Mark Matthews: The Horseman: Obsessions of a Zoophile, ISBN 978-0-87975-902-5
(German translation: Der Pferde-Mann, 2nd Print 2004, ISBN 978-3-8334-0864-9) - Marjorie B. Garber: Dog Love, ISBN 978-0-641-04272-0
- Gaston Dubois-Dessaule: Etude sur la bestialité au point de vue historique, médical et juridique (The Study of Bestiality from the Historical, Medical and Legal Viewpoint) (Paris, 1905)
- Reprinted 2003 as -- Gaston Dubois-Desaulle: Bestiality: An Historical, Medical, Legal, and Literary Study, University Press of the Pacific (November 1, 2003), ISBN 978-1-4102-0947-4 (Paperback Ed.)
- A.F. Neimoller:
- Bestiality and the Law: A Resume of the Law and Punishments for Bestiality with Typical Cases from Fifteenth Century to the Present (1946)
- Bestiality in Ancient and Modern Times: A Study of the Sexual Relations of Man and Animals in All Times and Countries (1946)
- Marie-Christine Anest: Zoophilie, homosexualite, rites de passage et initiation masculine dans la Greece contemporaine (Zoophilia, homosexuality, rites of passage and male initiation in contemporary Greece) (1994), ISBN 2-7384-2146-6
- Robert Hough: The Final Confession Of Mabel StarkMabel StarkMabel Stark, whose real name was Mary Haynie was a renowned tiger trainer of the 1920s and she was referred to as the world's first woman tiger trainer/tamer.- Biography :...
(Stark was the world's premier tiger trainer of the 1920s, specializing in highly sexualized circus acts. She wore white outfits to hide the tiger's semen during mating rituals and foreplay, which the audience took to be vicious attacks.) - Otto Soyka: Beyond the Boundary of Morals
Print and online media
- Animal Sex (October 2009) "Bizarre Magazine speak to a couple who run bestiality web sites and star in the films"
- The Joy Of Beasts (3 December 2000, Independent on Sunday, UK)
- Heavy Petting (2001, Peter Singer Nerve.com)
- Sexual Contact With Animals (October 1977, Pomeroy Ph.D.) (co-author of the Kinsey ReportsKinsey ReportsThe Kinsey Reports are two books on human sexual behavior, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female , by Dr. Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy and others and published by Saunders...
) - All opposed, say "neigh" (1999, RiverFront Times, discussing the British documentary and Missouri's legislation)
- A Goat's Eyes are so Beautiful (May 2004) "Tanya Gold, reviewing the Edward Albee play, finds that love affairs with pets are not as unusual as you'd think"
Film, television and radio
- Animal passions (part of the Hidden Love series) (1999, follow-up sequel 2004, Channel 4, UK): Ofcom [the UK television regulator] reported that: "This was a serious documentary exploring a rare minority sexual orientation. Although the programme gave an opportunity for zoophiles to express their opinions, the effect was neither to sensationalise nor normalise their behaviour."
- Sexe et confidences (April 2002, CBSC Decision C01/02-329, Canada): Hour-long sex information program hosted by sexologist Louise-Andrée Saulnier discussing zoophilia. Covered folklore, academic studies and general information, plus telephone call-in from viewers describing their zoophilic experiences and stories they had heard.
- Talk Sport Radio (December 2002, UK): Live talkshow interview with lifelong zoophile, followed by call-in discussion.
- Night on EarthNight on EarthNight on Earth is a 1991 film directed by Jim Jarmusch.Night on Earth may also refer to:*Night on Earth , the soundtrack album from the Jarmusch film, written by Tom Waits....
(1991): A taxi driver confesses to his passenger, a priest, of a sexual encounter he had with a sheep in his youth. - Animal Love (1995, Ulrich Seidl, Austria)
- The animated series Drawn TogetherDrawn TogetherDrawn Together is an American animated television series, which ran on Comedy Central from October 27, 2004 to November 14, 2007. The series was created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein, and uses a sitcom format with a TV reality show setting...
features a character named Captain Hero, who frequently shows traits of zoophilia. - Zoo (2007), a documentary of the life and death of Kenneth PinyanKenneth PinyanThe Enumclaw horse sex case was a 2005 incident in which Kenneth Pinyan , an American Boeing engineer residing in Gig Harbor, died from receiving anal sex with a stallion at a farm in an unincorporated area in King County, Washington, near the city of Enumclaw...
, and those who came to Enumclaw for a similar reason. One of 16 out of 856 candidates awarded a place at the Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
2007. - High School HighHigh School HighHigh School High is a 1996 comedy film about an inner city high school in the Los Angeles, California area, starring Jon Lovitz, Tia Carrere, Mekhi Phifer, Louise Fletcher, Malinda Williams and Brian Hooks...
(1996), When Clark (Jon LovitzJon LovitzJonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
) is about to have sex with Victoria (Tia CarrereTia CarrereTia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
) in the dark, it's too dark for him to see and ends up having sex with her cat instead. Her cat is meowing in a painful manner. - Sleeping Dogs LieSleeping Dogs Lie (2006 film)Sleeping Dogs Lie is a comedy film written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, about a woman whose relationships are damaged when she reluctantly reveals that she committed an act of bestiality with her dog while at college.- Plot :An impulsive act of bestiality from her distant past haunts Amy, an...
(also known as'Stay' ): A romantic comedy in which a girl's engagement is heavily tested when she confesses to her fianceEngagementAn engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
that when younger she performed oral sexOral sexOral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
on her dog. - Clerks 2:There is a scene where Randall, Dante, Jay, Silent Bob, and Elias sit in the Mooby's as they watch the "Sexy Stud" perform oral sex on "Kinky Kelly", a donkey, then ultimately stands up, when finished, and then begins to sodomize the animal. After the group is put in the drunk tankPrison cellA prison cell or holding cell or lock-up is a small room in a prison, or police station where a prisoner is held.Prison cells are usually about 6 by 8 feet in size with steel or brick walls and one solid or barred door that locks from the outside. Many modern prison cells are pre-cast. Solid doors...
for the night, the "Sexy Stud" explains that the viewers won't face any jail time and that he'll receive a fine for animal cruelty. "The Sexy Stud" also refers to Zoophilia as "Interspecies Erotica". - Stealing HarvardStealing HarvardStealing Harvard is a 2002 crime comedy film directed by Bruce McCulloch, about a man who resorts to crime to pay for his niece's Harvard tuition....
, a dog tries to attack Duff (Tom GreenTom GreenMichael Thomas "Tom" Green is a Canadian actor, rapper, writer, comedian, talk show host and media personality. Best known for his shock humour brand of comedy, Green found mainstream prominence via his MTV television show The Tom Green Show...
) by biting his crotch but the dog enjoys how it feels in his mouth and does not let go. When Duff manages to get the dog off, he tries to lock him in a room but the dog somehow escapes and chases Duff in a sexual frenzy and succeeds in humping him. Duff had been involved in a crime with his friends and once they are caught, Duff and the dog are now satisfied with one another and are found cuddling. - Vase de NocesVase de NocesVase de Noces is a Belgian arthouse film directed by Thierry Zéno and stars Dominique Garny.The film deals openly, and sometimes graphically, with bestiality, and is informally known as The Pig Fucking Movie...
, a controversial BelgianCinema of BelgiumBelgium is essentially a bi-lingual country divided into the Flemish north and the French-speaking south. There is also a small community of German speakers in the border region with Germany...
art film about the disturbing sexual relationship between a man and his pig. - America's SweetheartsAmerica's SweetheartsAmerica's Sweethearts is a 2001 romantic comedy film, directed by Joe Roth, starring Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, John Cusack, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The film also stars Keri Lynn Pratt, Hank Azaria, Stanley Tucci, Seth Green, Alan Arkin, and Christopher Walken, and features a cameo appearance...
: Catherine Zeta-JonesCatherine Zeta-JonesCatherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
' character's Doberman massages Billy CrystalBilly CrystalWilliam Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
's crotch with his snout. - The Fox Television's show House M.D. in the episode "Sex Kills", there is a man in the clinic with a bruised ankle who claims to be having sex with a cow.
- An unaired 1998 episode of The Jerry Springer ShowThe Jerry Springer ShowThe Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
, "I Married a Horse". - Pop punkPop punkPop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
band Blink 182 have referenced bestiality several times in their music, including "Dysentery Gary" from their Enema of the StateEnema of the StateEnema of the State is the third studio album by American pop punk band Blink-182. Recorded at various locations throughout California with producer Jerry Finn, the album was first released on June 1, 1999 in the United States on MCA Records...
CD and the bonus track from their Take Off Your Pants and JacketTake off Your Pants and JacketTake Off Your Pants and Jacket is the fourth studio album by the American pop punk band Blink-182. Produced by Jerry Finn, the album was released on June 12, 2001 through MCA Records. Blink-182, after the massive commercial success of their previous album, Enema of the State, entered the studio in...
CD, "Fuck a Dog."
See also
| Animal studies |
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|---|---|
| Human sexuality |
Sexology Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behavior, and function. The term does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sex, such as political analysis or social criticism.... Sexual norm A sexual norm can refer to a personal or a social norm. Most cultures have social norms regarding sexuality, and define normal sexuality to consist only of certain legal sex acts between individuals who meet specific criteria of age, consanguinity , race/ethnicity A sexual norm can refer to a... Sodomy Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"... Paraphilia Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her... |
| Human/nonhuman interaction |
Anthropophilia in animals Anthropophilia, from the Greek ἅνθρωπος and φιλία , is a sexual attraction for humans... Anthrozoology Anthrozoology is the study of human-animal interaction. It is a modern interdisciplinary and burgeoning field that overlaps with a number of other disciplines, including anthropology, ethology, medicine, psychology, veterinary medicine and zoology... Animal marriage Human-animal marriage is not recognized in law by any country.-Cow:* An Indonesian teenager from Bali was forced by village elders to marry a cow after he was caught having sex with it... Animal loss The death of a pet or an animal to which one has become emotionally bonded can be an intense loss, comparable with the death of a human loved one, or even greater depending on the individual. The death can be felt more intensely when the owner has made a decision to end the pet’s life through ... Exogamy Exogamy is a social arrangement where marriage is allowed only outside of a social group. The social groups define the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. In social studies, exogamy is viewed as a combination of two related aspects:... |
| Ethics, morality and philosophy |
|
|---|---|
| Animal welfare |
Animal welfare Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights... Animal rights Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings... |
| Other |
Historical and cultural perspectives on zoophilia This article covers the historical and cultural aspects of zoophilia , from prehistory onwards.-Overview:Prior to and outside the influence of the major Abrahamic religions , sex with animals was sometimes forbidden, and sometimes accepted... Zoosadism Zoosadism is a term coined by Ernest Borneman referring to pleasure derived from cruelty to animals. Zoosadism is part of the Macdonald triad, a set of three behaviors that are a precursor to sociopathic behavior.-Research:... ) |
External links
- Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality, Bestiality entry, at Humboldt University Berlin Sexology Dept
- Pet-Abuse.Com Database Bestiality and zoosadism legal cases from the U.S. and UK.