Zoophilia

Zoophilia is a paraphilia involving sexual attraction to non-human animals. It is often conflated with bestiality, which refers to the sexual act involving a human and a non-human animal. However, zoophilia refers to the sexual attraction or fantasy, while bestiality refers to the act itself.

Zoophilia is considered a mental disorder by some medical and psychological organizations, while others focus more on the act of bestiality and its potential for animal abuse. Diagnostic criteria often emphasize distress or impairment caused by the attraction, or acting on the urges.

Most legal systems worldwide criminalize bestiality, regardless of whether the animal experiences demonstrable harm. The legality of simply having zoophilic thoughts or fantasies is generally not addressed, as thought crimes are not typically prosecutable.

Ethical concerns surrounding zoophilia and bestiality primarily focus on animal welfare and the potential for coercion, abuse, and harm to animals. Animals are incapable of giving informed consent, and any sexual interaction with a human could be considered exploitation.