Zoophilia is understudied, and usable statistics about the frequency of bestiality cases are limited or not available at all. They report love and respect for the animals and invoke the proper conditions in which animals are kept. In their opinion, zoophilia is simply a sexual desire that is different from the norm. Today, most societies condemn zoophilia, but those attracted to animals form secret subcultures. Later, in the Middle Ages zoophiles were burnt at the stake together with the “guilty” animals.
The Code of Hammurabi (dated to the 18th century BC) prescribed the death sentence for those involved. Following their initial acceptance, sexual relations with animals were severely punished.
Its acceptance has varied throughout the course of history, for example, a god in the shape of an animal seducing a woman is a recurrent motif of ancient mythology and depictions of zoophilia can be found in countless works of art. Zoophilia or bestiality, that is, sexual attraction to animals is as old as mankind in antiquity it was already a known phenomenon. The Swiss regulations are exceptional in both respects, while at the other end of the list, Italy does not have specific legislative provisions for either aspect. At the same time, countries with differentiated criminal legislation for zoophilia were also 3.62 times more likely to rank higher in terms of the legal status of animals. The correlation was not significant ( p = 0.3147). The assessment of zoophilia and the legal status of animals resulted in two country rankings, which the authors compared with each other. With regard to zoophilia, answers to the following questions were sought: are sexual acts performed with animals and the possession and distribution of animal pornography criminally punishable? Several aspects of the legal status of animals were examined including: (1) is the protection of individual animals included in the constitution, (2) do animals have a special status beyond mere objects, (3) can we find specific legislative provisions that explicitly state that animals are not simply things, and (4) does the legal system also take the “dignity” of animals into consideration. The criminal legislation regarding zoophilia and the legal status of animals were examined in 15 European countries. Switzerland is a positive example of both factors, while Italy faces many challenges in establishing specific legislation. The results of compiling and comparing country rankings for zoophilia and legal status show that countries that place greater emphasis on regulating zoophilia are also more likely to have clearer rules in place regarding the legal status of animals. This research also examined criminal law definitions related to zoophilia. In the case of their legal status, the study examined the shift from viewing animals as a simple legal object to giving them special legal status. These two factors were chosen because they show how societies relate to animals through legislation, that is, how much animals are protected because of their inherent value, and not just because of the interests of humans. The aim of the research is to examine the legal status of animals and the criminal law regulation of zoophilia (commonly referred to as “bestiality”) in 15 European countries.