Zoophobia

Zoophobia refers to the irrational fear or dislike of animals. It can refer to the fear of all animals or a fear of one particular species. Animal phobias are generally very specific to a species or type of animal. Commonplace animal phobias are cats (ailurophobia), snakes (ophidiophobia), and spiders (arachnophobia) although there are many other animal phobias. Animal phobias can be a result from a negative experience with one animals that is then generalized to the whole species. For example, a child who was bitten by a dog may develop a zoophobic fear of all dogs as a result of the fearful experience from one dog.