A Princeton professor has sparked a backlash from disgusted Twitter users after he urged his followers to ‘read and ponder’ a ‘thought-provoking’ article promoting bestiality.
Ivy League lecturer Dr Peter Singer, 77, shared a report called ‘Zoophilia Is Morally Permissible’ this week with his 124K followers, prompting a tidal wave of horrified replies.
The piece, which was published in the Journal of Controversial Ideas in September, argues that animals can consent to sex with humans by giving ‘indications’, and that it may not be harmful for them.
Dr Singer, a Princeton scholar for more than two decades who founded the journal and edits it, described the article as ‘thought-provoking’ as he shared it on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Princeton professor Dr Peter Singer (pictured) has sparked a backlash from disgusted Twitter users after he urged his followers to ‘read and ponder’ a ‘thought-provoking’ article promoting bestiality
Dr Singer , 77, shared a report called ‘Zoophilia Is Morally Permissible’ this week with his 124K followers, prompting a tidal wave of horrified replies. (Pictured: two sheep)
The Princeton scholar for more than two decades described the controversial article as ‘thought-provoking’ as he shared it on X, formerly known as Twitter
‘This piece challenges one of society’s strongest taboos and argues for the moral permissibility of some forms of sexual contact between humans and animals,’ he said on Wednesday.
‘This article offers a controversial perspective that calls for a serious and open discussion on animal ethics and sex ethics.’
Princeton’s Dr Peter Singer shared an article promoting bestiality this week
The Professor of Bioethics was quickly hit with a barrage of criticism from disgusted readers.
‘What is wrong with you!!’ several people fumed, while another condemned him for promoting ‘rape’. Bestiality is a crime in all states apart from Hawaii, New Mexico, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
‘There is nothing to ponder,’ one person replied to Dr Singer. ‘People (almost always men) who rape and sexually molest animals should be in jail and on the sex offender register. Sex with someone who can’t consent is rape. Next!’
Another person pointed out Dr Singer’s writing about ethics and veganism. ‘Can’t eat them. Can f*** them,’ they wrote.
Others described the article as ‘twisted’, ‘sick’ and ‘disgusting’. ‘F*** off you f***ing psycho pervert!!!,’ one person wrote.
‘Not every barrier needs to be broken down,’ another detractor declared. ‘Not every norm needs to be questioned.’
Another American academic, Professor Gary Francione, blasted Dr Singer as someone who has been supporting bestiality for ‘decades’, and accused him of parroting the controversial line for publicity.
‘Peter, you have been arguing for decades that we need to rethink bestiality, Here is your 2001 essay, which was originally in Nerve,’ the NJ Rutgers University lecturer said.
‘I thought it was sick then. I think it’s sick now. But I appreciate that whatever keeps you in the public eye is what works.’
The piece shared by Dr Singer (pictured) was published in the Journal of Controversial Ideas in September and argues that animals can consent to sex with humans by giving ‘indications’, and that it may not be harmful for them
But Dr Singer doubled down on his support for the article on Saturday, explaining why he’s a vegan but also seemingly pro-bestiality.
‘Imagine that you are an animal locked up all of your life in a factory farm stall too narrow for you to even turn around, let alone walk a single step, so that you have nothing to do all day except stand up and lie down on a floor consisting of bare metal slats,’ he said.
‘Then you are crammed into a truck and driven for many hours to a place where you will be slaughtered.
‘This is what happens to millions of pigs in the US today, and the lives of billions of other factory-farmed animals are no better.
‘Now imagine that you are an animal living with a person who cares for you and loves you in all the ways that most people love their companion animals, but in addition, this person sometimes has sexual contact with you, making sure that the contact does not hurt you, and leaving you free to move away if you don’t like it.
‘You live out your natural lifespan like this, and when you get old and terminally ill and are in distress, the person who cares for you, full of sadness, takes you gently to a veterinarian who puts you to sleep. Which animal would you rather be?’
X users weren’t convinced by his argument, with a second wave of disgust following his second tweet as users blasted him as ‘sick’ and ‘a weird freak’.