Bestiality is a sexual relationship between humans and animals and sometimes it is referred as Zoophilia.

If we talk about India this type of relationship is banned under Section 377 of IPC.

But there are countries where this is legal like Hungary, Germany, Finland, Mexico, New Mexico, The States of Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Dr. John MacDonald was the first person who possibly identified the erotic relationship between humans and animals.

Behind this act, there are many psychological reasons that induce a person to do so.

In ancient history specifically Greek mythology there is a mention about Zoophilia, in those days people used to worship Apis bull which included sexual practices. Also, there were games where women were sexually involved with animals.

Animals Involved in Bestiality

In India mostly dogs are engaged in this but in other countries animals like cats, young bulls, snakes, fish, dolphins, deer, tapirs, antelopes, and camels are involved.

Practices vary from grooming to human anal or vaginal penetration.

There are pornographic films in which male equines (members of the horse family) are engaged with anally with men and women. Sometimes the violence leads to the death of an animal.

Psychological Causes

• Interpersonal abuse in childhood

• Sometimes Paraphilic disorder

• Sexual abuse in pre-pubertal age

• Low educational background

• Lack of Sex education

Forensic Analysis in Bestiality Cases

In cases of bestiality, the fecal matter is examined.

Fecal matter is a waste product from an animal or human digestive tract and it is excreted through the anus or cloaca and the process is known as defecation.

The fecal stains are examined through Microscopic Examination and Chemical Examination for the determination of  Bilirubin.

So, Bilirubin is the substance that is formed by the breakdown of Erythrocytes. It is not found in urine and it is passed through the stools. In rare cases, the presence of Bilirubin indicates the damage in the liver or the flow of bile from the bladder is blocked.

Forensic Examination of Bestiality

Microscopic Examination

In the microscopic examination, the suspected stained areas are softened by using the normal saline for half an hour. 

A small amount of stain scraping is taken on a microscopic slide and one or two drops of normal saline and a drop of lugol's iodine are applied to it. 

The microscopic slide is covered with the coverslip and examined under the microscope to determine the undigested food.

The cells such as pus cells, epithelial cells, entmoebahistolytica cysts, and intestinal helminth giardia ova are often observed along with large numbers of bacteria.

Chemical Examination

The suspected stains are extracted with a small amount of distilled water and 2-3 drops of 10% mercury chloride solution and amyl alcohol is added to the mixture as equal to that of water, and the whole mixture is thoroughly shaken.

The supernatant layer of alcohol is pipette off in another tube, adding 2-3 drops of 10% alcoholic zinc chloride solution. 

UV light rose pink coloration is detected with green fluorescence, showing the presence of bilirubin. 

This test is considered one of the most sensitive and accurate tests for bilirubin confirmation.

Bestiality Case Studies in India

Here are some case studies in brief which will give an insight and more depth to the topic.

Kerala

1. Ameerul Islam, was found involved with goat and his video was recoreded by one of the migrant worker, he also mutilated the private parts of the goat. The person is also accused in Jisha Murder Case.

2. There is another case of Kerala in the city of Kozhikode, the man named Zachariah (48) was alleged to have raped a dog and he was caught after his Whatsapp video got viral.

Madhya Pradesh

1. A cow was raped by a drunken man (50), Sravan Vyas of Betul district and he was charged under 377 of IPC.

2. This is the case of Balaghat district where a 25 year old man was found sexually engaged with a cow, he was found red-handed and under section 456 and section 377 of IPC he was got arrested.

3. This is recent case took place on 4th  July 2020 at Sundar Nagar dairy in Bhopal where according to the CCTV footage an accused (55) was found having an obscene act with a cow.

Delhi

1. An accused (18) was admitted in AIIMS in the Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine department for having sexual involvement with a baby cow (calf).

References:

10 Horrific Acts That Are Legal In Some Countries. 09 August 2018. 13 July 2020 <https://listverse.com/2017/12/26/10-horrific-acts-that-are-legal-in-some-countries/>

Animal cruelty: 55-year-old man arrested for raping cow in Madhya Pradesh. 08 July 2020 16 July 2020 <https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.timesnownews.com/amp/mirror-now/in-focus/article/animal-cruelty-55-year-old-man-arrested-for-raping-cow-in-madhya-pradesh/618003>

Beetz, Andrea M. “A Scarcely Investigated Phenomenon Between Crime, Paraphilia, and Love.” Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice (2004)

From Raping dogs to cows to dead body, 7 bizzare cases from India. 29 07 2018. 16 July 2020 <https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailyo.in/lite/variety/sexual-perversion-deviance-animal-abuse-bestiality-necrophilia-india/story/1/13620.html>

Holoyda, Brian J. and William J. Newman. “Childhood animal cruelty, bestiality, and the link to adult interpersonal violence.” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry (2016)