Bestiality and zoophilia - Evolve For Animals

Bestiality and Zoophiliastudies on the broader subjects of interpersonal violence and sexual abusehave sometimes included bestiality as one of many behaviors assessed.Results from these broader studies are usually cited to support the claim of aconnection between bestiality and interpersonal, in particular sexual, violence.This accords with another established link between animal abuse ingeneral and interpersonal violence (for an overview, see Lockwood andAscione 1998). However, new insights from recent studies, especially theones conducted by Beetz (2002), Miletski (2002), and Williams andWeinberg (2003), which focus exclusively on bestiality and zoophilia, showthe necessity for a more differentiated discussion and further investigation.In addition, differences in the legal status of bestiality, depending on thecountry or state, complicate matters further. From the viewpoint of animalprotection agencies, the question of whether animals can give consent to sexualacts being carried out on them also needs to be considered.This paper provides an overview of the existing information on bestialityand zoophilia, to allow an objective and more differentiated discussion ofa possible link between sexual contacts with animals, animal abuse, andinterpersonal violence. In the next section, information on the prevalence ofbestiality in normal and special populations will be reported. This informationshould serve as a reference point for an evaluation of the prevalence ofthis behavior among samples of violent and sex offenders described later on.Then, an overview of the findings of recent research, in particular the studiesof Beetz (2002), Miletski (2002), and Williams and Weinberg (2003), willbe given with a focus on the different types of sexual contact people havewith animals, the various sexual practices, and the kinds of animals involved.This leads on to a discussion of the necessity to assess the degree of violenceinvolved in sexual practices with animals when discussing a link with interpersonalviolence. Following this, a comparison is made between bestialityand other procedures performed on animals, and special attention willbe given to the question of consent and the legal status of bestiality in differentcountries. Finally, I will integrate the information available and makesome conclusions about the link between sexual contact with animals andinterpersonal violence and sex offending.The Prevalence of BestialityAs a basis for comparison with the prevalence rates found among offendersreported in the next section, some data on the prevalence of sexual contactswith animals are reviewed here. Few studies provide such informationfor a normal population; the most important ones are those by Kinsey,Pomeroy and Martin (1948), Kinsey et al. (1953), and Hunt (1974).Bestiality and zoophilia: Associations with sex and violence offending 47