ZETA Responds to Anti-Zoosexuality Law

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/germany-plans-to-outlaw-sex-with-animals-a-869402.html

Many of you may be familiar with the law that is being tossed around German parliament at the moment, intending to re-criminalize sex with animals.  I personally know little about what is going on there, which I suppose helps anyone intent on discovering who I am as they now know that I am either not German or else I am very sneaky.

In any case, though, while this news is absolutely terrible for any zoos in Germany -- and really, eventually, all of Europe -- it does come with a hefty silver lining: zoo rights group ZETA is showing its face and opposing the movement.

A month or two prior to today, I had contact with a member of ZETA via email.  We had an excellent discussion about some sensitive topics, and particularly how best to achieve greater tolerance from the public.  Now, I am thrilled to hear that, at least to some extent, they are putting themselves into action when they are most needed.

Unfortunately, it seems sometimes their message is being taken the wrong way by people.  This article spends much of its time relating the group to people running sex farms and painting their dogs' claws with nail polish.  Another logical fallacy comes in when they quote a vet who notes that it is abusive for dogs to have sex outside of their heat cycles, purely because they are heat cycles (to which we, as enlightened individuals, respond, "So women can only have sex for a few days per month?")

So it seems there is a ways to go: what needs to be done is for a solid line to be drawn.  We can't be viewed as people who just think sex with animals is great and let's all be free and use the critters however we please.  We need to let the public know that we hate sex farms and abusers, if anything, even more than they do.  A common enemy is the best way to forge an alliance; the public just needs to be shown that this enemy exists, and it's not us.

I also think that more than one person -- as it is now -- need to get their face out there.  Write to news stations or to relevant politicians who are likely to be sympathetic.  Tell people your story.  It's mentioned again and again in these articles just how common zoosexuality is, but it's also implied again and again that all or almost all of these individuals are delusional and selfish animal abusers.  People don't go looking for the truth in this incredibly taboo area; they want to stay as far from it as possible and continue hating it, so we really do need to get up in their faces ourselves at this crucial time.

ZETA's website.

Dec 9, 2012: A fantastic interview by Mr Kiok.