It's disgusting to hear that ASPCA officials in Rhode Island are tracking down someone who allegedly sexually assaulted a poor four-year-old female Corgi-Labrador mix.

What's even more repulsive is the fact that people having sex with animals is much, much more common than you think! It's been pervasive ever since the etching of our human story in rocks.

Some states don't think there's anything wrong with it, either. It's actually legal in places like Washington, D.C. (go figure), West Virginia, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Wyoming. The famed sexual researcher Alfred Kinsey estimated that eight percent of men and 3.6 percent of women engage in some sort of sexual activity with an animal, and that study was conducted back in the 1940s. The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that about 34 percent of men in Brazil, mostly from rural homes, had sex with animals quite often. Do you think this is why penile cancer was so high there?

Today, a whole sub-culture of people are engaging in sexual activities with animals and refer to themselves as "zoos." There are internet forums whose purpose is to share their animal stories and exchange advice. One of the largest sites is BeastForum that boasts over 1.2 million registered members and more than that in unregistered members.

Do you want to be further shocked or angered? Bestiality events are organized on animal sex farms or bestiality brothels, and like a Nevada prostitute ranch, groups of animals are corralled for viewing and then the cowboy and cowgirls just mosey on down their happy trails.

This is happening and hiding in plain sight, but as you see from the Rhode Island story, having sex with animals happens everywhere, legal or not. By the way, bestiality is a felony in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

If you are a true animal lover, we need to start talking more openly about zoophilia.

Phil Paleologos is the host of the Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

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