Bestiality

Bestiality is a particularly difficult kind of animal abuse to discuss, it is rare and even more covert than abuse by way of neglect or violence. Generally bestiality is not studied in isolation but as an additional form of abuse in populations already distinguished by multiple forms of abusive and/or criminal behavior. As such it is normally found to be an aggravating factor associated with greater severity in offending.

Bestiality is relatively uncommon in the general population. Surveys of male medium security inmates found that approximately 6%  had engaged in sexual acts with animals  (Hensley et al 2006, Tallichet et al, 2005) However some surveys find a rate as high as 22% (Henderson et al 2011).  Oneal et al (2008) found a rate of 10% in a sample of male adolescents with sexual behavior disorders.  Bestiality appears to be more common amongst men than women (Herzog, 2007)

The practice of bestiality most often reflects availability rather than preference.  It is associated with rural locations and lower levels of education, which may explain why it is apparently in decline. 

More rarely, persons may be preferentially zoophillic being sexually and/or romantically attracted to animals rather than people (Earls, Lalumiere, 2002).

Under the old testaments bestiality was admonished to the degree that it undermined the perceived natural order and categories (Burnside, 2006).  As such bestiality by a woman (a woman taking the initiative) was more severely punished than bestiality by a man--although in both cases the offending parties were meant to be put to death (Burnside, 2006): "And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast" (King James, other versions here). Historically it was thought that bestiality or even an intense preoccupation with animals could cause a woman to give birth to a deformed child (Sharpe, 2009). 

However increasingly bestiality is seen as a serious crime only to the extent that it is cruel to animals (McGraw, Warren).  It remains high condemned, for example one survey in Texas found that 97.4% of people thought that engaging in sexual activity with an animal should be punished.

Bestiality Bibliography:

• Burnside, J.P. (2006) Strange flesh: sex, semiotics and the construction of deviancy in Biblical law. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 30, 387-420.
• Earls, C.M., Lalumiere, M.L. (2006). A case study of preferential bestiality (zoophilia). Sexual Abuse: a Journal of Research and Treatment, 14, 83-88.
• Henderson, B.B., Hensley, C., Tallichet, S.E. (2011). Childhood animal cruelty methods and their link to adult interpersonal violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26, 2211-2227.
• Hensley, C., Tallichet, S.E., Dutkiewics, E.L. (2010). Childhood bestiality a potential precursor to adult interpersonal violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25, 557-567.
• Hensley, C., Tallichet, S.E., Singer, S.D. (2006). Exploring the possible link between childhood and adolescent bestiality and interpersonal violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 910-923.
• Herzog, H.A. (2007). Gender differences in human-animal interactions: a review. Anthrozoos 20, 7-21.
• Oneal, B.J., Burns, G.L., Kahn, T.J., Rich, P., Worling, J.R. (2008). Initial psychometric properties of a treatment planning and progress inventory for adolescents who sexually abuse. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 20, 161-187.
• Sharpe, A.N. (2009). England's legal monsters. Law, Culture and the Humanities, 5, 100-130.
• Vollum, S., Buffington-Volum, J., Longmire, D.R. (2004). Moral disengagement and attitudes about violence towards animals. Society and Animals, 12, 209-235.
• Warren, A.P., Warren, C. (2010). Benign violations: making immoral behavior funny. Psychological Science, 21, 1141-1149.