Here's how it went down for me... I was spending the day with friends, and at the time I was feeling really depressed and anxious, both about the zoo thing and other stuff in my life. I tried to play along with them and be fun to be around, but overall I was really quiet. Finally, one of them (who I'll call Bear for now) jokingly asked me to say something, because I'd been so quiet all evening. At that point, I decided I felt safe enough to tell them about how I felt.

To be fair, my delivery was pretty awful. I mumbled something about being a kynosexual, and of course they were confused because that's a really uncommon word for it. Then I explained that it meant I am mainly sexually attracted to dogs. They were stunned into silence at first, but then assured me that my secret was safe with them, and that though they might make fun of me for it later, they didn't think less of me for it.

A later conversation at a bar helped out a bit too. I explained that some of my New Years Resolutions involved getting more active in the zoo community. And they were, overall, very supportive. Bear said he could see how, since dogs do hump humans all the time, a relationship with one seemed possible to him, even if it was odd. The other offered some sympathy, since he had come out as gay a few years before, and repeated something his mother had told him when she found out about him (she was upset about it at first): it's going to be hard for you. Just make sure you understand that. We then discussed similarities between gay couples, interracial couples, and interspecies couples in terms of challenges faced and how some people will never like it, but it can be worthwhile.

TL;DR: In coming out to my friends, I feel like I did it without much forethought and was lucky to have such open-minded people around me. This goes to show that coming out can be positive, but you should be careful about it, and particularly about who you tell. One phone call to the ASPCA (if you're active) could ruin your life, after all. But my best wishes and encouragement go to you.

I told one of my best friends that I was attracted to one of his family's horses. It didn't go well at all, and for a week or two, I figured that he and I were done. I was just waiting to see whether he would keep it to himself or out me to everyone.

Eventually he came around to the idea, and things since then have become just dandy. He's warmed up to zoophilia, and even if he doesn't entirely get it, he doesn't mind that his horse and I are very much in love. If you're planning on coming out, just understand this; a person can absolutely despise your sexuality, but if you're close enough with them, then that one aspect of your life shouldn't ruin their entire view of you.

I've been out to everyone I know for 8 years now, friend or not. Here is how to do that.

Step 1. Do you have a job, family or anything in your life that you would like to keep? No? Good. Because if you do, coming out is seriously risky business and there is a probability that if someone doesn't like the fact that you are zoo, or you piss off the wrong person, you might get into trouble or lose something you hold dear to your heart.

Step 2. When you do decide to come out, do not under any circumstance say that you have sex with animals or that you have plans to do so. Say that you are a zoophile or that you are attracted to animals. Probable cause, is probable cause and the point of coming out is to know that you are still loved and accepted among peers and to lift a heavy weight off of your chest, not to brag about the details of your private sex life.

Step 3. Have any zoo pics or vids on your computer? Get them off of it now and to someplace encrypted and hidden/safe just in case the shit hits the fan. I feel like this should have been step #2 and a default thing any zoo should be aware of, out or not.

Step 4. Depending on who you come out to, reactions may vary. Laughter is not a 100% failsafe for a positive reaction, they may in fact view you as a joke or just brush it off as you joking and may not even believe you. If you come out to someone who is very stoic, watch out for them as well as they don't exactly express their emotions willingly and may even be skilled at hiding them from you. The majority of people will have a knee-jerk reaction though, so most of the time it is easy to tell if someone approves or doesn't approve.

Step 5. Now here's the hard part. Coming out to someone you've known for a while that didn't previously know that you are zoo is always much harder than coming out completely and letting the haters sort themselves out by naturally being repelled by you and your newly found/proud self. Why? Because the longer you know someone, the more attached you get emotionally and all of that goes byebye if they do not approve.

You should probably ask some preliminary questions to gauge their reaction, such as: What do you think about gays being compared to people who do bestiality or people who are attracted to animals?, How do you view animal rights?, etc. Don't do it all at once, this isn't an interview and your friend will likely catch on before you even have a chance to come out.

Once you've processed their answers, you can probably gauge what their reaction might be to you coming out. If you still decide to come out, do it publicly in an area where the ambient noise drowns out your conversation, not in a public yet intimate/crowded setting such as a restaurant. If you do it privately, there is a chance for violence or escalation to happen with no help for you. People are less likely to cause commotion in public, than in private.

You also may want to look into your rights as a citizen. If they react badly, an officer may show up at your door and you will want to know your rights so you can successfully avoid them being infringed upon. If you live in the states, the only things you need to say are: "Do you have a warrant officer?", "Am I under arrest officer?" and "Am I free to go officer?". Say nothing else, do nothing else and always open the door with a video camera rolling.

I came out to my family when I was 16. The results were horrible. I didn't do my homework on asking them questions as I should have, it was just kinda thrust upon me by them finding my browser history. I handled it horribly admittedly (I didn't even connect the dots that Christianity didn't really get along with bestiality, so I didn't even try to hide it) but you have to hear this story to know what happens when things go bad.

I was nearly institutionalized... The first doctor they took me too actually was ready to sign the paperwork. My parents declined, and instead, said doctor decided I would spend the next 10 years or so of my life on a drug cocktail that nearly killed me. To this day, I still feel it's effects. I pull my hair out in tufts, I bite my lip when nervous to the point it will swell up (sometimes even when not nervous), I can't sleep or wake normally, I talk/type like a clearly intelligent but completely scatterbrained Victorian lord (or something, you tell me).

...And that's after I got off the meds.

When I was on the meds, I wanted to die.

I convinced my parents i was "cured." I firmly believe this saved me from an early death. We finally saw another doctor, who took one look at my medication regimine and his first words were "what are you trying to accomplish here? You have medications with opposite effects in the same prescription plan!"

All in all, he reduced my medication plan which amounted to about 10 separate prescriptions, to about 2 and some vitamins. (The 2 drugs that remain treat the symptoms CAUSED by the initial drugs, ironically, I can't live without them now)

My parents and I still don't get along. They stopped my college funding (said I "wasn't worth it"), and killed what would've been a very good degree in the process (I was an honor role student throughout).

They still look at me funny around animals.

It's not the same, and it never will be.

Be careful. You have to be certain. Even then, you have to be prepared. If you aren't, it can and will try to destroy you.

I told my parents when I was 17. I think it sort of shocked them. They wanted me to see a psychologist which I did, and eventually he decided I didn't need to see him anymore. At some stables I volunteered at, most people could guess I'm a zoo, and sometimes boarders don't like me handling their personally owned horses. The staff would also sometimes periodically make lewd jokes.

Ive been out to my family for a few months now. Everything went fine with them and they love me for who i really am, but there were a few things i took away from it. My two bits of advice are as follows. 1) only tell someone if you are prepared for the worst scenario you can imagine, and then some. Shit can really hit the fan if it goes the wrong way and you risk losing lot more than you gain by telling someone in my opinion. 2) Ask yourself why you want to tell this person. Is it someone you want to tell because you feel they deserve to know? Or is it someone you want to tell to make yourself feel more comfortable? In my view (which is not everyones) your zoophilia is something that should only be shared with those closest to you, that you feel deserve to know who you truly are. When i came out, i only fulfilled the latter of these and took an uncomfortably large risk. Although everything turned out rather stellarly, i actually could have lost everything, and there wouldnt have been a whole lot i could do about it. If youd like to know more or ask a more specific set of questions, my pm box is always open.

Compare what you can gain to what you can lose.

I see little to gain from coming out to anyone. I wouldn't even call it coming out because most zoos never do more than fantasize about animals while leading normal lives where they end up mating with other humans.

Come out to a partner you plan on sharing your life with. You really don't need to tell anyone else, as it's not going to help you or them. You may feel like telling someone is going to open up some new avenue of freedom and discussion, but it won't change your life. Even if your friend were to know about your sexuality, what would it change? Would you go on dates with your horse or dog with them and their date? It's not quite the same as coming out about other sexual persuasions. It also has far, far more risks involved.

The chief risk being that your friend is quite possibly going to see you as a freak who hurts innocent, furry babies, which is how 99% of the world sees pets. And then you may be outed to far more people in a manner you probably wouldn't choose for yourself.

See, coming out about a sexual orientation is something that can be seen by a large swath of people as a liberating thing that lets you be open about loving and being attracted to who you choose. The huge, glaring problem with zoophilia is that the partners you want to be with cannot speak. As a result, most people will say the same thing: "animals cannot consent." This makes you look like a molester. People will turn on their friends if they feel someone or something innocent is in jeopardy.

If being with animals makes you happy, then establish that lifestyle. Make a home for yourself surrounded by your partner or partners and share love and affection and be that guy who everyone thinks just enjoys nature and loves his pets an extra amount. Nobody needs to know what goes on behind closed doors, and what's more, very few people want to know. Unfortunately it is very appalling to most people, and I'm sure most people wouldn't know what to do with that information.

In the end it's your decision. But I think you'll find that most people will not react well to it. This is not like coming out if you're Gay, as being Gay has become culturally acceptable (mostly). But zoophilia/bestiality isn't. My advice is stay in the closet. You can enjoy your secret passions without hurting anyone that way, especially your own reputation. Good luck.

I have decided to take the path in which everyone who knows me/I care about know that I am a zoo. There are only two people left who don't know yet. People know and have seen me taking care of animals and know that I have the best intention for them. Not everyone has to know the full story, but as long as they know that I'm more attracted to animals, and have zero attraction to humans, they have everything they need to know. I invite them to ask questions in case they want to know the full story which some did.

Some people say that I'm just lucky but I think it's down to how you explain your own feelings. I rarely even call it by the name. All the people I told, including my own parents, understand that this is a personal feeling I have and are all glad that I been able to be honest about it with them. I'm glad I don't have to hide things from the people I care about.

I've come out to a bunch of people. First one, I was sure she already knew zoos because of things they had written on the internet, and it turned out she was one herself too.

Second was the guy I lost my virginity to. He wasn't a zoo, but actually seriously suggested I use an animal brothel. I didn't keep in touch with him.

Third was my first proper boyfriend. I don't know how it happened, but it went well. My first girlfriend on the other hand, seemed OK with it at first, but in retrospect she was just afraid of losing me if she didn't act cool with everything. I hope she's more comfortable with life now.

One casual male partner asked me just after I came, and he seemed cool with it at the time, but became increasingly not OK with it. Things came to a head one day when he was talking about his latest BDSM escapade, then I tried to show him a zeta badge I was proud of, he got catty and I sniped back.

I briefly had a twitter account which I used to talk about zoo stuff, and it helped me come out to two friends. I only found out many months later that both of them were also zoo. There was a third who still doesn't know who this mysterious zoo is, as he's not too comfortable with it.

Just before I started dating my current partner, I chatted with a zoo friend of mine about a mutual acquaintance, asking if they thought I could come out to him. I did so very soon after, while he was giving me a lift home from an evening of board games. That's still going well. He's even given feedback on letters I've tried to write to newspapers about us.

My current partner, I was very cautious about coming out to. It took me many months, and telling her there was something important I wanted to tell her but was afraid to, before I was able to. The relief when I finally did and she accepted me was one of the happiest experiences in my life. She has also told her mom, her best friend, and her councillor, and when Denmark announcing their plans led to me having a nervous breakdown she helped me get a councillor who would accept me as a zoo.

Well, as many people already told you, you need to be really careful about how your friend thinks about this topic. If he is already neutral or positive about it you can try it if you think it is worth the risk. Othewise you shouldn't even be thinking about it. Who knows what he would do with this highly sensitive kind of information.
From my own experience I can tell you that I told my friends at the age of 15 or so. They first didn't take me seriously but after a while and a bit of pushing from my side most of them accepted that I am a zoo. Still there were few that hated me from then on. But I wasn't careful about this topic at all. Know I think I was too fast as some of them told it their other friends and they their friends and so on. I kind of went out of control and some people started hating me but most remained neutral as they didn't know me really after all.
I think that telling it to your parents/family is more dangerous especially if you are younger and still dependent. I told mine at the age of 16 but I already knew that my mother wasn't against it at all as she is some kind of person with nearly no prejudice against minorities. So I went straight forward. She was kind of shocked nontheless but it was more of a protective reaction than an angry one. She knows that zoophiles get discriminated nearly everywhere on the planet and said to me that I need to be careful. My father on the other hand didn't understand it at all which didn't change till today. Sadly.
So if you feel secure enough I would recommend it. It can surely take a huge load off your mind.

There are three people who know-- my parents and my best friend. I confessed it when I thought my "struggle with pornography" was wrong. They think I still think that way, so I guess I'm halfway out of the closet.

I noticed, despite their Christian religion, they went out of their way to tell me they accepted me as a person-- just not my attraction.

Depending on who you're talking to, I will repeat The EthicalZoo when I say that it is important to focus on the attraction itself-- not the desire to act. Even the most open-minded people should be spoken to gently. There is a stereotype for zoos, after all, and it's not a pleasant one.

I came out to some friends in my sports team when I was depressive about the new law in germany in 2013. They asked me whats going on and so I told them. Today I feel a lot better about my situation as they were very understanding and supportive. They are all students though and I don't live with an animal partner. In germany we also don't have the christian fundamentalism you find in several states of africa and in the USA.

Wether you come out to your best friend highly depends on the laws in the state you live in, wether you already have an animal partner (in some states he or she could be taken away from you) and maybe even the political ideology of your best friend. If he is a very religious person, conservative or authoritarian there might not want to tell him.

One day I worked up the courage and just told my mother, she sensed something was on my mind, I told her.

I knew all my shit, answered her questions quelled misinformation.

Best part, her response,"everyone is different and that is Okay" YAY