'Wet Goddess' Writer Malcolm Brenner Talks Consensual Dolphin Sex After Margaret Howe's Story

Malcolm Brenner was probably the first person to talk about having a sexual relationship with a dolphin, but after Margaret Howe came out with her “Wet Goddess 2.0” story on Tuesday, the admitted dolphin lover felt the need to speak out once more.

While Howe explained in the BBC documentary “The Girl Who Talked to Dolphins” that her relationship with a bottlenose named Peter was one-sided, Brenner, a self-confessed zoophile, explained there was nothing to be ashamed about the relationship he had with a sleek marine mammal for six months.

Brenner, 63, told British newspaper The Mirror, that he fell in love with a dolphin named Dolly and believes she “came on to him” after they met at a Florida amusement park in 1971. She died about nine months after they met, and Brenner, who admits to having sexual experiences with a dog, said he was heartbroken.

“She announced her intentions to me by positioning herself so I was rubbing against her,” Brenner told the Mirror. Their interspecies affair started when Dolly apparently tried to elude a male dolphin in their shared pool, he said.

“At first I discouraged her, I wasn't interested. After some time I thought, 'If this was a woman would I come up with these rationalizations and excuses?’” he said.

Brenner would wait until the park was closed and then sneak into her tank at Floridaland when her male companion was put away.

“There's something quite transcendental about making love with a dolphin,” Brenner explained. “The dolphin is very aware, the dolphin is an intelligent and creative creature and making love is a consummate act."

Brenner first came into contact with Dolly when he was studying and taking pictures for the amusement park.

Like Peter, Dolly died soon after she was separated from her beloved. Brenner explained he fell into a deep depression that lasted five years after her death. Brenner believes Dolly, like Peter, committed suicide by refusing to breathe and sinking to the bottom of her tank.

News of Brenner’s relationship with Dolly isn’t new. In 2011 he wrote “Wet Goddess,” a memoir about his encounter with his underwater lover. He decided to speak out after hearing Howe’s story of Peter rubbing himself on his trainer and how she would “relieve” the dolphin so they could continue their training.

“I wish she'd spoken out about it a long time ago,” Brenner said. “I've found her reaction a bit sad.” Howe said though their relationship was sensual, it was not sexual on her part.

Brenner doesn’t believe there is anything for Howe to be ashamed of because he does not see it as abuse. “There is no comparison between sexual abuse and a sexual relationship with a consenting animal,” he claimed.

"The Girl Who Talked to Dolphins" will air on BBC4 June 17 at 9 p.m.

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