So much for Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Nobel and the Volvo. What a bunch of animal fuckers the Swedes turned out to be. According to a study done by Svenska Veterinärforbundet, a Swedish veterinary organization, the past few years have seen a sharp rise in the number of man-on-animal sexual liaisons.

According to Svenska, about 200 to 300 pets are injured annually by acts of sexual assault, with the numbers growing since 1999 - the year Sweden outlawed kiddie porn. "It appears," says Svenska's Johann Beck-Friis, "that there are some people who have replaced children with animals."

Further evidence of the problem is indicated by the increased availability of animal porn at video shops and online. Svenska Veterinärforbundet is hoping to make both the public and Swedish authorities more aware of the animals' suffering, and perhaps get some laws changed.

Unlike nearly every other modern nation, bestiality is not a criminal offence in Sweden. It was decriminalized in 1944, along with homosexuality.

» Scott Saxon