Eh, not really. As a long-time furry(certified greymuzzle with the actual grey hairs to prove it lol) AND zoo I have to say that's an ignorant take. People who are strictly into anthros desire the human/animal hybrid. The bipedal legs, the human-like consciousness and intelligence, the human-shaped hands with opposable thumbs, etc. The amount of animal features(genitals, feet/leg type, etc.) can vary but the most important part is that they're on 2 legs and can communicate with speech. You will N E V E R get this from zoophilia/bestiality, for obvious reasons haha. They like the animal hybrid part, but the sentience and equal communication skills are just as important. They want to be able to talk to their anthro partner and their anthro partner to talk back. They want to be able to hug and hold them similarly to how you do another human, but with a nice fluffy layer of fur on their skin(fursuits help achieve this to an extent).
Many furries actually wish they were anthros themselves, which at that point would make it nowhere near zoophilia because, in their fantasies, THEY are an anthro too. It may still be cross-species if they fantasize about being an anthro wolf who's fucking an anthro lion or something but we're talking about creatures that don't even exist, it's difficult to apply real-life standards here. Being a furry and being a zoophile are two very separate things, I say this as someone who is both. They mean 2 very different things to me. If I'm being honest, I'd prefer an anthro, for the same reason non-zoo furries do. But I still also would love to have a good time with a horse and do my best to pleasure him/her.
As for my response to the thread itself:
Vocal anti-zoo furries are common because they don't want people in the general public to think that being a furry means wanting to have sex with animals, which is understandable because it doesn't. I don't believe as many of them are as against it as they claim to be, I think many just say the words to not be accused of being a zoophile themselves. I'm sure many of them don't mind the ethical zoophilia that is promoted here and only hate the real animal rapists, they just can't really come out and say it lol.
Being an outed zoophile as a furry is like being labeled a "suppressive person" in Scientology. The community will shun you, order people to cease communication with you(and they will or they will receive the same treatment as you and be accused of zoophilia themselves), destroy your reputation, spread lies and rumors. They will try to ruin your life and they will get an internet mob to help them. There are a lot of the...postmodernist mob mentality movements in the fandom, largely because of the fandom's willingness to accept literally everything except zoophilia.
A fursuit isn't required to be a furry. They're fucking expensive as hell so that would be a pretty big barrier to entry. Most furries don't have one. "Suiters", as they're called, are a subset of the fandom, not everybody even likes fursuits. I myself am not a fan. Personally, I think it's creepy to completely hide your identity in public and hug strangers. But to be fair a lot of suiters are well known and frequent a lot of cons, so they're not really a "stranger" because people know who's in the suit.
Being a furry is as simple as asking yourself if you want to be a furry. Do you have an interest in anthropomorphic animals? It doesn't have to be sexual. My husband loves furry characters and thinks they're absolutely adorable, but he's not really sexually attracted to them. He's been wanting to create a fursona because he thinks it would be cool, then we could get cute/sexy art of our characters together. It's fun.
I just got Biomutant today(it's on this month's Humble Bundle lol) and I'm damn near pissing myself over how cute it is despite being a kung-fu-style post-apocalyptic RPG. This game is pure furry bait and I took it and I love it haha. I was obsessed with Tiny Toons as a child. Loved anything with anthro animals. Had some of my first sexual thoughts about Kyrstal from Star Fox Adventures haha. For me it's always been a sexual attraction as well as just a general interest, but it can mean whatever you want it to. Some people are super hardcore and think they literally have the spirit of an animal. That's...not me, but hey, whatever. They can do them.
Anyway, sorry for the huge rambling of a post lol. Hope this at least helps!
