What is zoophilia? It is difficult to explain this in a few words. Books have been written about them to do them justice. When asked about the definition of the term zoophilia, there are three different answers: on the one hand, that of science, the reputation of the public and, on the other hand, that of the zoophiles themselves.
In science, zoophilia is generally defined as sexual attraction to animals. This means that those affected find animals or one or more species to be sexually attractive, just as “normal” people feel attracted to people of the opposite sex or the same sex (or both sexes).
Conversely, this does not mean that zoophiles automatically find every animal they see attractive. Just like with heterosexuality and homosexuality, countless factors play a role here, such as gender, appearance and character.
Zoophilia does not necessarily have to involve sexual acts, but the desire to do so is usually strong, so that living out this tendency is obvious.
There are zoophiles who can fall in love with animals and view and treat them as life companions. For others, the focus is on sexuality and less on the emotional connection. And for this other person, general proximity to animals is merely a preference that only serves secondary or even unconscious sexual satisfaction
The public's reputation for zoophiles has fallen drastically in recent years. We are currently experiencing a general tendency in society to move back to "respectable" values in a moral rollback. This can also be seen in the fact that the reputation of homosexuals is also declining. A few years ago it would have been unthinkable that a primary school teacher in Baden-Württemberg could collect 192,000 signatures in a short space of time with a petition to oppose homosexuality in sex education classes.
A few years ago people still thought about zoophilia in a rather casual way: "Well, as long as everyone is having fun, let them!" In many European countries, not only zoosexual contacts were permitted, but also animal pornography. Almost every German man who has ever been to the red light district of Amsterdam has watched an animal porn with a smile and excitement.
The reputation changed rapidly in recent years with the influx of angry citizens on the Facebook platform. This site is ideal for mobilizing people in a short space of time and with snappy, short sentences and theses. And just as an "upright" citizen in Emden managed to quickly organize an angry mob in front of the police station in Emden on Facebook to lynch a suspected child molester, animal rights activists, and especially those who only pretend to be, have also managed to turn large numbers of people against zoophiles.
In order to portray zoophilia as particularly bad, cruel and torturous, zoo opponents have mixed zoophilia with or equated it with zoosadism. Bloody, cruel pictures of animals that were allegedly abused and killed by zoophiles are repeatedly shown. The population was further negatively influenced with unbelievable claims, such as the statement that 500,000 animals die every year as a result of zoophile abuse or the repeatedly put forward thesis that there are dozens or even hundreds of animal brothels.
The situation is much more complicated among zoophiles themselves. The meaning of the term is usually much more narrowly defined, as it is based on a group-internal value system. However, there is also disagreement among zoophiles about the exact definition.
Basically, different tendencies can be distinguished:
One group defines the term zoophilia very narrowly and assumes a close emotional bond with the animal in order to legitimize sexuality between humans and animals. These people try to treat animals as equal life partners and claim not to reduce them to mere sex objects. They also often cite the Zeta principles as a kind of guideline or even code of honor.
Others define the term a little more broadly and see anyone who accepts and follows the Zeta principles as a zoophile. These people do not claim to see their animal partner as an equal, but as what it is for any non-zoophile, a beloved pet. Often these people are not "exclusively zoophilic," but also have human relationships.
Then there is a group that is difficult to define, which are defined as "beasties". They do not torture animals, but their own sexual satisfaction is the main priority, not that of the animal. This also includes fencehoppers, who seek or have sexual contact with other animals without the knowledge of the animal owners. In the understanding of zoophiles, beasties and fencehoppers are often met with clear contempt.
Because one does not want to discriminate against subgroups within a discriminated group, which zoophiles unfortunately are in society, many zoophiles fundamentally reject the distinction between "good" and "bad" zoosexuals. The main argument is that one does not differentiate between "good homosexuals" (those who have a homosexual relationship) and "bad homosexuals" (those who spend their weekends in darkrooms), but rather considers all these people to be equal homosexuals.
There is agreement on the need to differentiate between people who abuse animals as objects for their own pleasure or even torture them. Zoosadism is not only frowned upon, but is actively pursued by zoophiles and the perpetrators are reported.