The Portuguese Veterinary Order, Ordem dos Médicos Veterinários (OMV), has issued internal guidance for veterinarians after reports emerged that some young foreigners identifying as animals had sought treatment at veterinary clinics in Portugal.
According to Euronews Portugal, the OMV introduced guidelines on how veterinarians should respond to so-called ‘therians’—people who identify spiritually or psychologically with animals and often imitate animal behaviour online.
The OMV stressed that veterinarians are legally authorized to treat animals only and cannot diagnose or provide medical treatment to humans under any circumstances. The organization reportedly instructed veterinarians ‘to respond respectfully, explain the legal boundaries of veterinary medicine, and redirect such individuals to conventional healthcare services.’
‘A person who identifies as an animal remains, under the law, a human being’
One of the most widely shared lines from the guidance stated that ‘a person who identifies as an animal remains, under the law, a human being.’
The so-called therian phenomenon has spread rapidly on social media platforms such as TikTok, where users post videos wearing animal masks, tails, and costumes while behaving like dogs, cats, foxes, or wolves. Some also participate in ‘quadrobics’, a trend involving movement on all fours. Portuguese media additionally reported that a planned therian gathering in Vila Real earlier this year was ultimately cancelled following public backlash.
The story quickly went viral and sparked, understandably, strong reactions from right-wing conservative circles. Many pointed to the absurdity of such guidance even being considered necessary in order to clarify that humans cannot be treated as animals. Others blamed progressive social engineering, viewing therians as part of a broader woke push to normalize mental illness, similarly to transgender identity.
Commenters described the situation as ‘insane’, ‘ridiculous’, and evidence that ‘common sense now requires official guidelines’, with some arguing that similar statements would soon be needed ‘regarding men who pretend to be women’.
The therian movement itself is not entirely new. Historically, ideas about humans spiritually identifying with animals have existed for centuries through mythology, shamanistic traditions, and folklore.
The modern therian community, however, first emerged in the early 1990s on internet forums dedicated to werewolf and fantasy discussions. Researchers and therian community archives trace its origins primarily to the Usenet forum ‘alt.horror.werewolves’, where users began discussing feelings of being ‘non-human animals in human bodies’. Over time, the subculture developed its own terminology, symbols, and online communities.
For most of its existence, therianthropy remained a small niche internet phenomenon concentrated mainly in the United States and Western Europe. However, the rise of social media—especially TikTok and Reddit—dramatically accelerated its visibility among teenagers and young adults during the 2020s.
Exact global numbers remain impossible to verify because the movement is highly decentralized and primarily online, but researchers and community observers describe it as a ‘rapidly expanding international subculture’ numbering at least in the tens or possibly hundreds of thousands worldwide. Recent reports also suggest particularly rapid growth in parts of Latin America and Southern Europe.
Therians most commonly identify as wolves, foxes, dogs, cats, and other culturally ‘popular’ animals. According to several academic studies, the community also shows unusually high rates of neurodivergence, mental health issues, and LGBTQ identification among its members.
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