I swear! I can take a joke!
*chokes on his pie then laughs* Me? Want to sleep with animals? This is about the time I start asking you about your drinking habits, missus :evilsmile: Please note that I come from Australia, not New Zealand* 
On some more serious notes, my apologies for not leaving the humor as it is, but suggestions that I am a zoophile (in a sense inclusive of sexual relations) are so not explained by my avatar! I would like to point you to the discussion in the thread on "teh furry" (in the society forum) because it is often an assumption that if one goes around identifying as a 'furry' (i.e. as indicated by my avatar) then one likes to have sex with animals...which many said furries would strongly deny (and then go on to distance themselves from the notion by being vehemently...uhm...zoophobic...not unlike homophobia). I know there seems to be this link and I wouldn't deny there to be a certain association (so you wouldn't be incorrect in saying what you did) but I would contend that this can only be properly regarded on an individual case-by-case basis.
Also it occured to me that the summing up wasn't quite done right, coz it wasn't comprehensive enough. So as a quick list, let's see if I can think of the salient points off the top of my head:
- We were originally talking about the status of relationships between people and other animals in a general sense.
- We agree to varying degrees that animals should be regarded as moral agents.
- The issue of consent and the ability to discern consent is central due to the presumably reciprocal nature of a relationship.
- We also agree that to treat a human-animal relationship exactly the same as a human-human relationship is generally delusional in that animals have obvious differences between them. But also in terms of being aware of how one treats this topic on a conceptual basis.
- Care must be taken to maintain consistency in reasoning when discussing how one should/can treat animals.
- Since issues of sexual behavior inevitably come into play, it were best to observe the differences in the relevant terms. Bestiality would refer to the emphasis on sexual contact (i.e. 'the sexual fetish' if you must), whilse zoophilia- to reiterate: "Zoophilia refers to attraction to animals that does not preclude intimacy of any sort (for want of a better expression)...Zoophilia...more commonly, focuses on the attraction to animals as a whole."
- Importantly, and I don't think we've mentioned this at all yet, judgements on behavior seem generally tied to the notion of initiative. What I mean by this is that it we presume that humans hold the initiative and therefore are primarily accountable. It seems the first image that one thinks of were one to think 'bestiality' is a man using his pet dog or some probably unwilling partner. The implications and associations are that of the man being the initiator/agressor (not unrelated to male/female sexual perceptions) which can be misleading. Related to a broader issue so I think I'll raise another thread on gender politics.
- This has important ramifications on discussions regarding moral aspects of conduct with animals, both sexual and non-sexual.
- Regardless, in a psychiatric setting, presuming the reality of predispositions, a sexual fetish (or any psychiatric 'condition') is not a pathology unless it causes maladaptive behaviors that cause a deterioration in mental/physical integrity. Actually, this is relevant to Hussar's thread regarding the pro-life doctor that refused to give generally over-the-counter contraceptives, so I'll write it up in a separate thread. Again, as Todd is anxious to emphasise, this is only relevant to part of the discussion.
So really, it's not quite a full circle. Maybe a big gaping wide open loop. But if we were to start going around in circles it'd go something like "you want to screw animals? Ewww that's so wrong" "No it isn't." "Yes it is." "No it isn't." and like all other great controversies will trundle forth ad nauseum until the world disappears up a small orifice.
*PS I apologise profusely if I offend anybody in dropping the standard sheep-shagger joke!