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Prosecutors in California reportedly are investigating whether two lawyers, charged inan unusual murder,sexually abused the dogs which killed their neighbor.
The story came out only days after controversial Princeton University bioethicist and euthanasia advocate Peter Singer caused a stir with an Internet magazine article suggesting a rethinking of the taboo on sex between man and beast.
Majorie Knoller and Robert Noel are charged in connection with the dog-mauling death of their neighbor. Prosecutors allege they let their new-breed mastiffs loose to pounce on 98-pound Diane Whipple and bite her to death.
The dogs are of a new breed, the Presa Canario, that combines the bone-breaking bite of a pit bull with the bigger frame of a mastiff. Authorities in Trenton last week said someone will be breeding them here soon.
In court papers filed in San Francesco, Knoller and Noel are said to be under investigation for having sex with the dogs.
An affidavit from a guard at the prison holding the lawyers’ adoptive son said officers seized legal mail that discusses "sexual activity between Noel, Knoller and the dog Bane,’’ which was exterminated soon after its leading role in the slaying of Whipple.
The prison guard also reported that he "discovered communications between Noel and Knoller and (the imprisoned son) that described sexual activities ... and included photos and drawings of dogs.’’
When reports about Singer’s article hit the media last month some thought the professor was joking with a straight face. A review of a Dutch book on bestiality, Singer’s article said sex between man and animal isn’t necessarily wrong if neither participant is hurt.
The opinion brought howls of protest from the public and prompted New Jersey’s three leading gubernatorial candidates to come out firmly against bestiality, which was knocked off state law books in 1979.
Singer’s article also prompted some extreme animal lovers to emerge from the dark, however, and they insisted they are not just country hicks and farmhands.
The Internet has provided a new home for bestialist, or as the practitioners like to call themselves, "zoophiles."
As explained by Greg Myers, an animal rights activist whose website frequently receives reports of animal sexual abuse,zoophiles are people who say they have loving, almost spouse-like relationships with a variety of domesticated animals.
"They think they have a lover-type relationship with animals, and they say they’re against animal porn, which they say is to make money," said Myers, shaking his head. "They believe they have a spiritual and emotional as well as sexual connection with animals."
While it’s difficult to get a handle on who the average practitioner of the perversion is, Myers said they include "white-collar professionals, law enforcement and just about anyone who works in any animal-related field."
That includes kennels, animal shelters, veterinary centers, animal grooming establishments.
"We’ve seen vets who engage in it, a millionaire who breeds horses and even some big AKC breeders of purebred dogs," he said.
