In the name of science and the fight against cancer, researchers in Brazil ventured forth to find an answer, or perhaps answers, to a simple question: What causes penile cancer?
The cadre of urologists assembled 492 Brazilian men, including 118 penile cancer patients. The survey would result in two startling revelations – first and foremost, that having sex with an animal is a risk factor for penile cancer, and to a slightly lesser extent, that 35% of rural Brazilians have had sex with an animal.
Though the zoophiliacs reported a wide range of animals and frequencies of encounter, the data showed only 32% (yikes!) of men without penile cancer reported sex with an animal, whereas 45% of the cancer patients had said the same thing.
A total of 59 per cent of men who had sex with animals did so for one to five years, while 21 per cent continued the behaviour, also known as zoophilia, for more than five years.
The subjects reported a variety of frequencies for their sex acts, ranging from monthly to daily.
The researchers found no association between penile cancer and the number of animals the men used over time.
The species included mares, cows, pigs and chickens, among other animals.
Lead author was Stjnio de Cassio Zequi, a urologist in Sao Paulo, and he said his study is the first to link the practice to male genital cancers.
He told LiveScience that if a man has sex with an animal it could produce micro-traumas in the human penile tissue.
‘The genital mucus membranes of animals could have different characteristics from human genitalia, and the animals’ secretions are probably different from human fluids.
‘Perhaps animal tissues are less soft than ours, and non-human secretions would be toxic for us.’
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