Another blow for bestiality

Above: Swedish exchange student Johanna Pihlgren and canine companion Maggie enjoying a traditional bit of Swedish fun.

Sweden, one of last legal havens, set to prohibit sexual relations with animals in 2012

Ian Kaufman
Editor-in-Chief

The topic of bestiality may, understandably, be dismissed jokingly on the rare occasions it emerges in conversation. It’s simply something that’s “not done.” But like it or not, in humanity’s long relationship with other animals, sexuality is something that has inevitably cropped up. That aspect of our relationship with animals may be less common today than it was in our past, but it is still “done” – just never admitted to.

The famous Kinsey reports found that around 8% of men and 3.6% of women reported a “sexual experience” with animals. This ranged from general body contact to cunnilingus performed by the animal, down the line to full-on penetration of (or, less commonly, by) the animal.

A full 8% of men reported having brought themselves to orgasm with an animal. Kinsey’s report, published in 1953, drew from extensive interviews with 6,000 individuals.
More recent studies on the subject are few and far between, and have found lower incidences of bestiality: four or five percent for males and under two percent for females. The decline is explained by the transition from rural to urban society, say some researchers: people in cities have fewer interactions with animals – and more with eligible human partners – than those in a rural, agricultural society.

Perhaps just as interesting as our sexual history with animals is the way it has been viewed, interpreted, and regulated over time and across cultures.

The Old Testament is quite clear on the matter: “If a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast,” it advises. Earlier in the same book (Leviticus), the death penalty is similarly prescribed for sexual acts between two men.

The line drawn in the bible between homosexuality and bestiality has not been lost on modern-day commentators. “We haven’t taken this to its ultimate conclusion,” said conservative commentator Pat Robertson when Maine legalization of gay marriage. “If we take biblical standards away in homosexuality… what about bestiality, and ultimately what about child molestation and pedophilia?”

In most countries, the issue of bestiality has been left in a dark, musty legislative nook – and as it’s not something that comes up everyday, most citizens don’t give the issue any thought. Which brings us to Sweden.

“It’s just bullshit that we haven’t changed the legislation yet,” she frankly states. “The animals don’t have a say – no one knows [whether or not they consent].”

The nation’s Penal Code of 1864 outlawed any “fornication against nature,” a term that included bestiality and homosexuality.

Until 1944, Swedish legislation was based on a “pre-modern religious [view], regarding bestiality and homosexuality as two varieties of the same crime against nature,” writes Jens Rydström, a Swedish historian and professor of gender studies.

So in 1944, when homosexual acts between consenting adults were legalized, bestiality rode its coattails into legitimacy – and it remains legal to this day. That’s a legal anomaly that may soon be changed – and not a moment too soon, says Johanna Pihlgren, a Swedish exchange student who studied at Lakehead this semester.

“It’s just bullshit that we haven’t changed the legislation yet,” she frankly states. “The animals don’t have a say – no one knows [whether or not they consent].”

Pihlgren doesn’t think allowing bestiality is simply part of the Scandinavian country’s famously liberal political culture. “It’s not about being liberal,” she insists. “It’s about protecting the ones who don’t have a voice, and just using common sense.”

The question for many boils down to this: can an animal really consent to a sexual act with a human being? One self-proclaimed zoophile justifies his relations with his dog on an online forum:

“Any of the times I did anything with her, she was the one who backed into me and provoked it,” he writes. “She was in heat and made herself available. There were also times later when she didn’t want to, and then I backed out immediately.”

Swedish Green Party representative Åsa Romson takes issue with that logic, arguing categorically that animals cannot give consent, and that bestiality is a form of animal abuse.
The Swedish legislature is set to reconsider the law next year, but the review didn’t come about as easily as one might think. After a “bestiality ring” was exposed by a Stockholm newspaper in 2008, the issue was debated in the legislature. Agriculture minister Eskil Erlandsson’s take on bestiality at that time shocked the Swedish population and resulted in some strange headlines the world over.

“At the end of the day, it is a judgment call what actually counts as sexual abuse of animals,” he told the legislature. “Let me give you some examples: Is it, and should it be legal to, um, coat your genitals with something that to a dog, for example, smells or tastes delicious in order that the dog might lick it off said genitals?”

“The agriculture minister is the reason it’s taken so long for Sweden to review the legislation, because he’s been pro-bestiality,” says Pihlgren.

Do you think he has some kind of personal interest in the matter, I asked?

“He must – you heard what he said. I mean, when you make that kind of statement in parliament, then you’re doing something in your spare time, it’s pretty obvious.”

“The thing is, he wasn’t [taken seriously after making that comment]. It became a media riot in Sweden afterwards,” she recalls. “He was basically forced to make a statement on TV that he did not think [bestiality] was alright, after several questions and accusations.”

This episode, along with the busted bestiality ring, makes the topic more than a joke in Sweden. In a television interview, a Swedish veterinarian claimed she had noticed an increased incidence of sexual assault on animals in recent years.

But there’s no reason to believe bestiality is any more common in Sweden than anywhere else, says Pihlgren.

“I’m sure it’s occurring everywhere,” she says. “It doesn’t really matter if something is legal or illegal, people are going to do it just the same. [But] if you’re attracted to, say, one of your cows, and you know that it’s not prohibited by law, then maybe there’s a bigger chance of actually getting your cock in there. If you’re kind of balancing, should I or should I not… maybe that’ll increase the chances of actually jumping the cow.”

The law is set to come up for review in the Swedish parliament next year, when it is widely expected bestiality will be legally prohibited. After 69 years, one of the last remaining countries to allow for human-animal sexual contact may no longer be a safe haven for bestiality.

Article photo by Ian Kaufman (Editor-in-Chief)

Tags: bestiality

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