Bestiality is defined as the act of sexual intercourse between a human and an animal. Attraction to animals in humans is known as zoophilia. Laws exist in much of the world prohibiting bestiality, including most of Europe and Australia, although it is typically considered taboo even in places where it is not specifically outlawed.http://cornellsun.com/section/opinion/content/2009/04/09/horse-named-taboo-oh-i-go-there

In the US, there are no federal laws against bestiality, except those pertaining to sodomy, which is typically understood to include sexual acts performed on animals. 30 states do have legislation, however, forbidding the practice explicitly.http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ovuszoophilia.htm

In 2008, a judge in New Jersey ruled that sex with animals was not against the law in that state, in a case where a police officer was accused of molesting cows.http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/092409_Judge_Bestiality_Legal_In_New_Jersey

Most anthropologists believe that bestiality has essentially always existed throughout human history. The practice of sex between humans and animals comes up frequently in ancient folklore, art and writings, and references to it can be found in both Ancient Greek Mythologyhttp://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/SEN/CH06.HTM#b3-BESTIALITY and The Bible.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B8CY1-4TRHCD9-1&_user=5081486&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000047720&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=5081486&md5=ccfb8545a50236e6819a0666ba569db2

The most memorable mythological reference to bestiality, Leda and the Swan, tells how the God Zeus took the form of a swan and seduced (or possibly raped) Leda, who later gave birth to the beautiful Helen of Troy. (Helen was supposedly hatched from an egg because her father, Zeus, had been in swan form during her conception). The story inspired numerous other works of art, including a poem by William Butler Yeats and a variety of "lost" paintings by Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.http://d-sites.net/english/yeats.htmhttp://www.beckydaroff.com/stories/details.php?recordID=157

Stories from around the Ancient World, including Egypt, China and among Native American tribes confirm that bestiality was a somewhat common practice.http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/SEN/CH06.HTM#b3-BESTIALITY From the Middle Ages forward, European court records are filled with incidents in which humans, typically men, were accused of fornicating with animals such as mares, pigs, sheep and goats.http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/SEN/CH06.HTM#b3-BESTIALITY Russian empress Catherine the Great was rumored to have died while having sex with a horse, but this is simply an urban legend; Catherine II died naturally from a cerebral hemorrhage.http://www.snopes.com/risque/animals/catherine.asp

Sexologist Alfred Kinsey was the first researcher to actually collect data about the frequency of bestiality, and he concluded that approximately 8% of males and 3.6% of females at some point in their lives experience sexual contact with an animal. Later studies showed these numbers declining, but all studies agree that this type of behavior is most common during adolescence.http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/SEN/CH06.HTM#b3-BESTIALITY