![2014-01-26 Roman Oil Lamp with Erotic Motiv 09 anagoria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/2014-01-26_Roman_Oil_Lamp_with_Erotic_Motiv_09_anagoria.JPG)
Zoophilia is a
paraphilia
Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as sexual interest in anything ot ...
involving a sexual fixation on non-human animals. Bestiality is
cross-species sex
Non-reproductive sexual behavior consists of sexual activities animals participate in that do not lead to the reproduction of the species. Although procreation continues to be the primary explanation for sexual behavior in animals, recent observ ...
ual activity between humans and non-human animals. The terms are often used interchangeably, but some researchers make a distinction between the attraction (zoophilia) and the act (bestiality).
In many parts of the world, bestiality is illegal under
animal abuse
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or Injury, harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...
laws or laws dealing with
sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...
or
crimes against nature
The crime against nature or unnatural act has historically been a legal term in English-speaking states identifying forms of sexual behavior not considered natural or decent and are legally punishable offenses. Sexual practices that have histor ...
.
Terminology
General
Three key terms commonly used in regards to the subject—''zoophilia'', ''bestiality'', and ''zoosexuality''—are often used somewhat interchangeably. Some researchers distinguish between zoophilia (as a persistent sexual interest in animals) and bestiality (as sexual acts with animals), because bestiality is often not driven by a sexual preference for animals.
Some studies have found a preference for animals is rare among people who engage in sexual contact with animals.
Furthermore, some zoophiles report they have never had sexual contact with an animal. People with zoophilia are known as "zoophiles", though also sometimes as "zoosexuals", or even very simply "zoos".
Zooerasty,
sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...
, and zooerastia are other terms closely related to the subject but are less synonymous with the former terms, and are seldom used. "Bestiosexuality" was discussed briefly by Allen (1979), but never became widely established.
Ernest Bornemann Ernst Wilhelm Julius Bornemann (12 April 1915 – 4 June 1995), also known by his self-chosen anglicisation Ernest Borneman, was a German crime writer, filmmaker, anthropologist, ethnomusicologist, psychoanalyst, sexologist, communist agitat ...
(1990, cited by Rosenbauer, 1997) coined the separate term ''
zoosadism
Zoosadism is pleasure derived from cruelty to animals. It is part of the Macdonald triad, a set of three behaviors that are considered a precursor to psychopathic behavior.
Research
Some studies have suggested that individuals who are cruel t ...
'' for those who derive pleasure – sexual or otherwise – from inflicting pain on animals. Zoosadism specifically is one member of the
Macdonald triad
The Macdonald triad (also known as the ''triad of sociopathy'' or the ''homicidal triad'') is a set of three factors, the presence of any two of which are considered to be predictive of, or associated with, violent tendencies, particularly with r ...
of precursors to
sociopathic behavior.
Zoophilia
The term ''zoophilia'' was introduced into the field of research on sexuality in ''
Psychopathia Sexualis
''Psychopathia Sexualis: eine Klinisch-Forensische Studie'' (''Sexual Psychopathy: A Clinical-Forensic Study'', also known as ''Psychopathia Sexualis, with Especial Reference to the Antipathetic Sexual Instinct: A Medico-forensic Study'') is an ...
'' (1886) by
Krafft-Ebing
Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (full name Richard Fridolin Joseph Freiherr Krafft von Festenberg auf Frohnberg, genannt von Ebing; 14 August 1840 – 22 December 1902) was a German psychiatrist and author of the foundational work ''Psychopathi ...
, 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. The term ''zoophilia'' derives from the combination of two nouns in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: ''ζῷον'' (''zṓion'', meaning "animal") and ''φιλία'' (''
philia
''Philia'' (; ), is one of the four ancient Greek words for love: ''philia'', '' storge'', ''agape'' and ''eros''. In Aristotle's ''Nicomachean Ethics'', philia is usually translated as "friendship" or affection. The complete opposite is ca ...
'', meaning "(fraternal) love"). In general contemporary usage, the term ''zoophilia'' may refer to sexual activity between human and non-human animals, the desire to engage in such, or to the specific
paraphilia
Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as sexual interest in anything ot ...
(''i.e.,'' the atypical arousal) which indicates a definite preference for animals over humans as sexual partners. Although Krafft-Ebing also coined the term ''zooerasty'' for the paraphilia of exclusive sexual attraction to animals,
[D. Richard Laws and William T. O'Donohue]
Books.Google.co.uk
Sexual Deviance, page 391. Guilford Press
Guilford Press or Guilford Publications, Inc. is a New York City-based independent publisher founded in 1973 that specializes in publishing books, journals, and DVDs in psychology, psychiatry, the behavioral sciences, education, geography, and res ...
, 2008. . .
Zoosexuality
![Tako to ama retouched](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Tako_to_ama_retouched.jpg)
The term ''zoosexual'' was proposed by
Hani Miletski
Hani Miletski (born 1962) is a sexologist, and sex therapist living in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. She specializes as a trainer and supervisor in the field, in sex addiction, and also works within the criminal justice system. She studied at ...
in 2002
as a value-neutral term. Usage of ''zoosexual'' as a noun (in reference to a person) is synonymous with zoophile, while the adjectival form of the word – as, for instance, in the phrase "zoosexual act" – may indicate sexual activity between a human and an animal. The derivative noun "zoosexuality" is sometimes used by self-identified zoophiles in both support groups and on internet-based discussion forums to designate
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
manifesting as sexual attraction to animals.
Bestiality
![Indiaerotic5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Indiaerotic5.jpg)
The legal term ''bestiality'' has three common pronunciations: or in the United States, and in the United Kingdom. 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. Confusing the matter yet further, writing in 1962, Masters used the term ''bestialist'' specifically in his discussion of zoosadism.
Stephanie LaFarge, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the New Jersey Medical School, and Director of Counseling at the
ASPCA
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...
, writes that two groups can be distinguished: bestialists, who rape or abuse animals, and zoophiles, who form an emotional and sexual attachment to animals.
Colin J. Williams Colin J. Williams (born 1941) is a sociologist and retired Professor of Sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. He served as Research Sociologist at the Kinsey Institute for Sex Research from 1968-1980.Staff report (June ...
and
Martin Weinberg
Martin S. Weinberg (born January 23, 1939) is an American sociologist whose work frequently involves human sexuality. His major areas of interest include sociology of the body, sociology of deviance and control, and interpretive sociology.Brody, ...
studied self-defined zoophiles via the internet and reported them as understanding the term ''zoophilia'' to involve concern for the animal's welfare, pleasure, and consent, as distinct from the self-labelled zoophiles' concept of "bestialists", whom the zoophiles in their study defined as focused on their own gratification. Williams and Weinberg also quoted a British newspaper saying that ''zoophilia'' is a term used by "apologists" for ''bestiality''.
Sexual arousal from watching animals mate is known as ''faunoiphilia''.
Extent of occurrence
The
Kinsey report
The Kinsey Reports are two scholarly books on human sexual behavior, ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Male'' (1948) and ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female'' (1953), written by Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, Clyde Martin, and (for ''Sexual Behavi ...
s of 1948 and 1953 estimated the percentage of people in the general population of the United States who had at least one sexual interaction with animals as 8% for males and 5.1% for females (1.5% for pre-adolescents and 3.6% for post-adolescents females), and claimed it was 40–50% for the
rural population
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and city, cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agriculture, Agricultural areas and areas with forestry ty ...
and even higher among individuals with lower
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
al status.
Some later writers dispute the figures, noting that the study lacked a random sample in that it included a disproportionate number of prisoners, causing
sampling bias
In statistics, sampling bias is a bias in which a sample is collected in such a way that some members of the intended population have a lower or higher sampling probability than others. It results in a biased sample of a population (or non-human fa ...
.
Martin Duberman
Martin Bauml Duberman (born August 6, 1930) is an American historian, biographer, playwright, and gay rights activist. Duberman is Professor of History Emeritus at Lehman College, Herbert Lehman College in the Bronx, New York City.
Early life
Du ...
has written that it is difficult to get a random sample in sexual research, but pointed out that when
Paul Gebhard
Paul Henry Gebhard. Jr. (July 3, 1917 – July 9, 2015) was an American anthropologist and sexologist. Born in Rocky Ford, Colorado, he earned a BS and a PhD from Harvard in 1940 and 1947, respectively. Between the years 1946 and 1956, 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 with 1940, reducing the opportunity to live with animals; Hunt's 1974 study suggests that these demographic changes led to a significant change in reported occurrences of bestiality. The percentage of males who reported sexual interactions with animals in 1974 was 4.9% (1948: 8.3%), and in females in 1974 was 1.9% (1953: 3.6%). Miletski believes this is not due to a reduction in interest but merely a reduction in opportunity.
Nancy Friday
Nancy Colbert Friday (August 27, 1933 – November 5, 2017) was an American author who wrote on the topics of female sexuality and liberation. Her writings argue that women have often been reared under an ideal of womanhood, which was outdated an ...
's 1973 book on
female sexuality
Human female sexuality encompasses a broad range of behaviors and processes, including female sexual identity and sexual behavior, the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political, and spiritual or religious aspects of sexual ac ...
, ''
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 tapes and personal interviews. After including a female sexual fantasy in a novel she submitted for ...
'', 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 had fantasized about sexual activity with an animal during heterosexual intercourse. In a 2014 study, 3% of women and 2.2% of men reported fantasies about having sex with an animal. A 1982 study suggested that 7.5 percent of 186 university students had interacted sexually with an animal. A 2021 review estimated zoophilic behavior occurs in 2% of the general population.
Perspectives on zoophilia
Research perspectives
Zoophilia has been partly discussed by several sciences:
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
(the study of the human
mind
The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...
),
sexology
Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism.
Sexologists app ...
(a relatively new discipline primarily studying
human sexuality
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
),
ethology
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...
(the study of
animal behavior
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objective ...
), and
anthrozoology
Anthrozoology, also known as human–nonhuman-animal studies (HAS), is the subset of ethnobiology that deals with biological interaction, interactions between humans and other animals. It is an interdisciplinary field that overlaps with other ...
(the study of human–animal interactions and bonds).
In the fifth edition of the ''
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...
'' (DSM-5), zoophilia is placed in the classification "other specified paraphilic disorder"
("
paraphilia
Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as sexual interest in anything ot ...
s not otherwise specified" in the DSM-III and IV
[
][
][
][
]). The
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
takes the same position, listing a sexual preference for animals in its
ICD
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a globally used diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes. The ICD is maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is the directing and coordinating ...
-10 as "other disorder of sexual preference". In the DSM-5, it rises to the level of a diagnosable disorder only when accompanied by distress or interference with normal functioning.
Zoophilia may also be covered to some degree by other fields such as ethics, philosophy, law,
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
and
animal welfare
Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...
. It may also be touched upon by sociology which looks both at zoosadism in examining patterns and issues related to
sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
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 is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry.
Initial psych ...
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:
*Human-animal role-players
*Romantic zoophiles
*Zoophilic fantasizers
*Tactile zoophiles
*Fetishistic zoophiles
*Sadistic bestials
*Opportunistic zoophiles
*Regular zoophiles
*Exclusive zoophiles
Additionally, zoophiles in categories 2, 3, and 8 (romantic zoophiles, zoophilic fantasizers, 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.
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 is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
journals. There have been several significant modern books, from Masters (1962) to Beetz (2002);
[Beetz 2002, section 5.2.4 – 5.2.7.] their research arrived at the following conclusions:
*Most zoophiles have (or have also had) long term human relationships as well or at the same time as zoosexual ones, and that zoosexual partners are usually dogs and/or horses (Masters, Miletski, Beetz)
*Zoophiles' emotions and care for animals can be real, relational, authentic and (within animals' abilities) reciprocal, and not just a substitute or means of expression. Beetz believes zoophilia is not an inclination which is chosen.
* Society in general at present is considerably misinformed about zoophilia, its stereotypes, and its meaning.
The distinction between zoophilia and zoosadism is a critical one to these researchers, and is highlighted by each of these studies. Masters (1962), Miletski (1999) and Weinberg (2003) each comment significantly on the social harm caused by misunderstandings regarding zoophilia: "This destroy
the lives of many citizens".
Beetz also states the following:
More recently, research has engaged three further directions: the speculation that at least some animals seem to enjoy a zoophilic relationship assuming
sadism
Sadism may refer to:
* Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation
* Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...
is not present, and can form an affectionate bond.
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 (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and Deviance (sociology), deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both t ...
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
In statistics, self-selection bias arises in any situation in which individuals select themselves into a group (sociology), group, causing a biased sample with nonprobability sampling. It is commonly used to describe situations where the characte ...
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.
Historical and cultural perspectives
![Judensau from Frankfurt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Judensau_from_Frankfurt.jpg)
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 (also ''Valcamonica'' or Camonica Valley, Eastern Lombard: ''Al Camònega'') is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about from the Tonale Pass to Corna Trentapassi, in the ...
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 the pen name of 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 titillation of the reader. Masters said that since pre-historic man is
prehistoric
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
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.
Pindar
Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is ...
,
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
, and
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
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 may be a form of propaganda or
xenophobia
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
, similar to
blood libel
Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...
.
Bestiality has been accepted in a few North American and Middle Eastern indigenous cultures.
Several cultures built temples (
Khajuraho
Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous f ...
, India) or other structures (
Sagaholm Sagaholm is the site of Bronze Age burial mounds (''Sagaholmshögen''). Sagaholm is located in Ljungarums parish just south of Jönköping in Småland, Sweden.
Sagaholmshögen
Sagaholmshögen is a cairn dating from the early Nordic Bronze Age ...
,
barrow, Sweden) with zoophilic carvings on the exterior, however at
Khajuraho
Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous f ...
, 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 Church-oriented culture of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, 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
Witch trials in the early modern period saw that between 1400 to 1782, around 40,000 to 60,000 were killed due to suspicion that they were practicing witchcraft. Some sources estimate that a total of 100,000 trials occurred at its maximum for a s ...
, their validity cannot be ascertained.
Religious perspectives
Passages in
Leviticus 18
Leviticus 18 (the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Leviticus) deals with a number of sexual activities considered abominable, including incest, bestiality, and homosexuality (or sodomy). The chapter also condemns Moloch worship. It is part of ...
(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. However, the teachings of the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
have been interpreted by some as not expressly forbidding bestiality.
In Part II of his ''
Summa Theologica
The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholasticism, scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all ...
'', medieval philosopher
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
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
Matthew may refer to:
* Matthew (given name)
* Matthew (surname)
* ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497
* ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith
* Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
's view that
even having thoughts of adultery is sinful to imply that thoughts of committing bestial acts are likewise sinful.
![Khajuraho-Lakshmana Temple erotic detal3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Khajuraho-Lakshmana_Temple_erotic_detal3.JPG)
There are a few references in
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
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
Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous f ...
. The depictions are largely symbolic depictions of the sexualization of some animals and are not meant to be taken literally. According to the Hindu tradition of erotic painting and sculpture, having sex with an animal is believed to be actually a human having sex with a god incarnated in the form of an animal.
However, in some Hindu scriptures, such as the ''
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...
'' and the ''
Devi Bhagavata Purana
The Devi Bhagavata Purana ( sa, देवी भागवतपुराणम्, '), also known as the Srimad Devi Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavata Purana or simply ''Devi Bhagavatam'', is one of the eighteen Purana, Mahapuranas of ...
'', having sex with animals, especially the cow, leads one to
hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
, where one is tormented by having one's body rubbed on trees with razor-sharp thorns.
Legal status
In many jurisdictions, all acts of bestiality are prohibited; others outlaw only the mistreatment of animals, without specific mention of sexual activity. In the United Kingdom,
Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is a law in the United Kingdom criminalising possession of what it refers to as "extreme pornographic images". The law came into force on 26 January 2009. The legislation was brought in ...
(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).
Despite the
UK Ministry of Justice
, type = Ministerial Department
, logo = Ministry of Justice logo.svg
, logo_width = 140px
, logo_caption =
, picture = HomeOffice QueenAnnesGate.jpg
, picture_width = 140px
, picture_caption = Head ...
's explanatory note on extreme images saying "It is not a question of the intentions of those who produced the image. Nor is it a question of the sexual arousal of the defendant", "it could be argued that a person might possess such an image for the purposes of satire, political commentary or simple grossness," according to ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''.
Many new laws banning sex with animals have been made recently, such as in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, Germany, Sweden,
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
,
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, and
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
. The number of jurisdictions around the world banning it has grown in the 2000s and 2010s.
Germany legalized bestiality in 1969, but banned it again in 2013. The 2013 law was unsuccessfully challenged in 2015.
Laws on bestiality are sometimes triggered by specific incidents. While some laws are very specific, others employ vague terms such as "
sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...
" 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 laws are aimed only at offenses to community "standards".
[Posner, Richard, A Guide to America's Sex Laws, The ]University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...
, 1996. . Page 207.
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. Under Section 143 of the Crimes Act 1961, individuals can serve a sentence of seven years duration for animal sexual abuse and the offence is considered 'complete' in the event of 'penetration'.
Copulating with a female alpaca is still specifically against the law in Peru.
As of 2022, bestiality is illegal in 48 U.S. states. Most state bestiality laws were enacted between 1999 and 2022. Until 2005, there was a farm near
Enumclaw, Washington
Enumclaw ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 12,543 at the 2020 census.
The Enumclaw Plateau, on which the city resides, was formed by a volcanic mudflow (lahar) from Mount Rainier approximately 5,700 y ...
that was described as an "animal brothel", where people paid to have sex with animals. After
an incident on 2 July 2005, when a man was pronounced dead in the emergency room of the Enumclaw community hospital after his colon ruptured due to having had anal sex with a horse, the farm garnered police attention. The
state legislature
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
of the
State of Washington
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the 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. Arizona, Alaska, Florida, Alabama, New Jersey, New Hampshire,
Ohio, Texas, Vermont, and Nevada have banned sex with animals between 2006 and the present, with the latter five all banning it in 2017. In 2021, Wyoming and Hawaii passed legislation banning bestiality. When such laws are proposed, they are never questioned or debated.
Bestiality remains legal in two states (
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
and
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
), while 19 other states have statutes that date to the
19th century
The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium.
The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...
or even the
Colonial period. These new statutes are distinct from older sodomy statutes in that they define the proscribed acts with precision.
Pornography
![Édouard-Henri Avril (28)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/%C3%89douard-Henri_Avril_%2828%29.jpg)
In the United States, zoophilic pornography would be considered
obscene
An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be use ...
if it did not meet the standards of the
Miller Test
The Miller test, also called the three-prong obscenity 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 Sta ...
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.
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
Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include erotical ...
s was seen from the start of the era of
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
. ''Polissons and Galipettes'' (re-released 2002 as "
The Good Old Naughty Days
''The Good Old Naughty Days'' (french: Polissons et galipettes, ), 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 R ...
") 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. An early film to attain great infamy was "
Animal Farm
''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...
", 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
Bodil Bjarta Joensen (; 25 September 1944 – 3 January 1985) was a Danish pornographic actress born in the village of Hundige, near Copenhagen. She ran a small entrepreneurial farm and animal husbandry business, and enjoyed celebrity status fro ...
's 1970s Danish movies.
Today, in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, where production faces no legal limitations, zoophilic materials have become a substantial industry that produces a number of 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
The Great Dane is a large sized dog breed originating from Germany. The Great Dane descends from hunting dogs from the Middle Ages used to hunt wild boar and deer, and as guardians of German nobility. It is one of the largest breeds in the world ...
dog starring in several films.
In Japan, animal pornography is used to bypass censorship laws, often featuring models performing
fellatio
Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may ...
on animals, because oral penetration of a non-human penis is not in the scope of Japanese
pixelization
Pixelization (British English, pixelisation) or mosaic processing is any technique used in editing images or video, whereby an image is blurred by displaying part or all of it at a markedly lower Image resolution, resolution. It is primarily u ...
censorship. While primarily underground, there are a number of animal pornography actresses who specialize in bestiality movies.
In the United Kingdom,
Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is a law in the United Kingdom criminalising possession of what it refers to as "extreme pornographic images". The law came into force on 26 January 2009. The legislation was brought in ...
criminalises possession of realistic pornographic images depicting sex with animals (see
extreme pornography
Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is a law in the United Kingdom criminalising possession of what it refers to as "extreme pornographic images". The law came into force on 26 January 2009. The legislation was brought in ...
), including fake images and simulated acts, as well as images depicting sex with dead animals. 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.
Zoophiles
Non-sexual zoophilia
The love of animals is not necessarily sexual in nature. In
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and sociology the word "zoophilia" is sometimes used without sexual implications. Being fond of animals in general, or as pets, is accepted in Western society, and is usually respected or tolerated. However, the word zoophilia is used to mean a sexual preference towards animals, which makes it
a
paraphilia
Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as sexual interest in anything ot ...
. Some zoophiles may not act on their sexual attraction to animals. 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.
Zoophile community
An online survey which recruited participants over the internet concluded that prior to the arrival of widespread
computer network
A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...
ing, most zoophiles would not have known other zoophiles, and for the most part, zoophiles engaged in bestiality secretly, or told only trusted friends, family or partners. The internet and its predecessors made people able to search for information on topics which were not otherwise easily accessible and to communicate with relative safety and anonymity. Because of the diary-like intimacy of blogs and the anonymity of the internet, zoophiles had the ideal opportunity to "openly" express their sexuality. As with many other
alternate lifestyles, broader networks began forming in the 1980s when participating in
networked social groups became more common at home and elsewhere.
[Weinberg and Williams] Such developments in general were described by Markoff in 1990; the linking of computers meant that people thousands of miles apart could feel the intimacy akin to being in a small village together. The popular newsgroup
alt.sex
alt.sex is a Usenet newsgroup – a discussion group within the Usenet network – relating to human sexual activity. It was popular in the 1990s. An October 1993 survey by Brian Reid reported an estimated worldwide readership for the newsgroup o ...
.bestiality, said to be in the top 1% of newsgroup interest (i.e. number 50 out of around 5000), – and reputedly started in humor – along with personal
bulletin board
A bulletin board (pinboard, pin board, noticeboard, or notice board in British English) is a surface intended for the posting of public messages, for example, to advertise items wanted or for sale, announce events, or provide information. B ...
s and
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.
A talker is a communication system precursor to MMORPGs and other virtual worlds such as '' ...
s, chief among them
Sleepy's multiple worlds
Sleepy's was a retail mattress chain with over 1,000 stores, primarily situated in the northeastern United States. The company was founded in New York City in 1931. Sleepy's was acquired by Mattress Firm in December 2015 and all stores were re ...
,
Lintilla, and Planes of Existence, were among the first group media of this kind in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These groups rapidly drew together zoophiles, some of whom also created personal and social websites and
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 often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...
s. By around 1992–1994, the wide social net had evolved. This was initially centered around the above-mentioned
newsgroup
A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are discussion groups and are not devoted to publishing news. Newsgroups are technically distinct ...
, alt.sex.bestiality, 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 relating to the subject, and community events.
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 the farm boys Kinsey researched 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 known to be particularly large compared to other subcultures which make use of the internet, so Weinberg and Williams surmised its aims and beliefs would likely change little as it grew. 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 zoophile group would lead the development of the subculture.
Websites aim to provide support and social assistance to zoophiles (including resources to help and rescue abused or mistreated animals), but these are not usually well publicized. Such work is often undertaken as needed by individuals and friends, within social networks, and by word of mouth.
[Miletski (1999), p. 22.]
Zoophiles tend to experience their first zoosexual feelings during adolescence, and tend to be secretive about it, hence limiting the ability for non-Internet communities to form.
See also
References and footnotes
External links
Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality entry for "Bestiality"at Sexology Department of Humboldt University, Berlin.
Zoophilia References DatabaseBestiality and zoosadism criminal executions.
Animal Abuse Crime Databasesearch form for the U.S. and UK.
{{Authority control
Animals and humans
Paraphilias
Animal pornography
Cruelty to animals
Sexual misconduct