Zoophilia, from the Greek (zṓon, "animal") and (philia, "friendship" or "love"), is a paraphilia, defined as an affinity or sexual attraction by a human to an animal. Such individuals are called zoophiles. Zoophilia consists of feeling for the animal, sexual activity is absent, but there is an exaggerated attachment to the animal from the part of the human. Eg: the human may want to run on all fours or to be buried near to his dog.
It is also termed as bestiality, any sexual relations between a human being and an animal. Although the practice is illegal in most countries, occasional zoophilic encounters are fairly common, especially in rural areas, where 17 percent of U.S. males in the Kinsey report of 1948 acknowledged sexual experience with animals at least once. Sexual contacts between women and animals occur less frequently.
Bestiality involves a human-animal sexual interaction, from which sexual excitement is derived. Bestiality has been long chronicled. It has been assumed that when humans lacked sexual gratification, in the pre-historic area, they searched for a substitute which often turned out to be an animal. This happened due to the lack of intellect on the part of the human beings, who did not notice much difference in animals other then shape, size and degree of threat to their lives.
Bestiality occurs in both men and women, and according to Kinsey 8% of men and 3% of women admitted having sexual encounters with animals. (out of the 8% of men, 50% of men who had been reared on farms had such contacts) Bestiality signifies a sexual act between humans and animals. It does not by itself imply any given motive or attitude. It is not always certain whether acts such as kissing, intimate behavior, frottage (rubbing), masturbation, or oral sex are considered 'bestiality' in all cultures or legal systems, or whether the term implies sexual intercourse or other penetrative activity alone. In a non-zoophilic context, words like bestial or bestiality are also used to signify acting or behaving savagely, animal-like, extremely viciously, or lacking in human values. The spelling beastiality is nonstandard, yet some experts suggest that this terminology might be more appropriate.
The activity or desire itself is no longer classified as a pathology under DSM-IV (TR) unless accompanied by distress or interference with normal functioning on the part of the person. Critics point out that that DSM-IV says nothing about acceptability or the well-being of the animal, and many critics outside the field express views that sexual acts with animals are always either abusive or unethical. Defenders of zoosexuality argue that a human/animal relationship can go far beyond sexuality, and that animals are capable of forming a genuinely loving relationship that can last for years and which is not functionally different from any other love/sex relationship.
Amongst zoophiles and some researchers, the term bestialist has acquired a negative connotation implying a lower concern for animal welfare. This usage originated with the desire by some zoophiles to have a way to distinguish zoophilia as a fully relational outlook (sexual or otherwise), from simple "ownership with sex." Others describe themselves as zoophiles and bestialists in accordance with the dictionary definitions of the words.
Finally, zoosadism refers to the torture or pain of animals for sexual pleasure, and also includes willfully abusive zoosexual activity.
