ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the term Animal sexual abuse (ASA) preferentially over other terms such as bestiality as these other descriptors explain the motives and behavior of the perpetrator and fail to convey the harm that occurs to the animal. It provides an overview of ASA and discusses the clinical and forensic necropsy examinations and techniques for identifying and collecting trace evidence such as semen or lubricants. ASA is also known by a variety of terms including bestiality, zoophilia, zoosadism, and animal sexual assault. The true incidence of sexual contact with animals by humans is not known due to a paucity of studies that investigate this in detail, perhaps due to its taboo nature. Species cross-reactivity for human prostate specific antigen (PSA) have been evaluated from a limited number of animals. Various screening tests can be utilized to detect the presence of seminal fluid and include screening tests for acid phosphatase test, PSA, or semenogelin, or use of mass spectrometry-based proteomics.
