Veterinarians in Portugal refused to treat therians

Veterinary Association of Portugal has issued guidelines for when a person who identifies as an animal comes to the clinic.

Order of Veterinarians of Portugal (OMV) has prepared internal recommendations for veterinary clinics in case of contact from people who identify themselves with animals. The reason was the growing popularity of the movement therians on social networks and reports of attempts by some young people abroad to seek help not from ordinary doctors, but from veterinarians.

Immediately an important clarification: according to Portuguese media, she OMV stated that in Portugal there are no recorded cases of veterinarians actually accepting such patients. We are talking more about preventive instructions so that clinics do not guess on the spot what to do if a person in a fox or dog mask suddenly decides to test the legal boundaries of medicine.

As he writes Correio da Manha, OMV emphasizes: veterinarians do not have the right to diagnose, prescribe treatment or perform any medical procedures on people, even if the person spiritually or psychologically associates himself with the animal.

“A person who identifies himself as an animal, from the point of view of law, still remains a person”– stated in Order of Veterinarians of Portugal. Therefore, in such situations, the specialist must refuse veterinary treatment, calmly explain the legal restrictions of his profession and refer the person to a doctor of the appropriate profile.

Therians – these are people who spiritually or psychologically connect themselves with a certain animal. In recent years, this phenomenon has become more noticeable due to TikTok and other social networks: members of such communities publish videos wearing masks, with tails and other accessories, imitating the behavior of dogs, cats, foxes, wolves and other animals.

In Portugal, the topic received additional publicity after reports of a planned meeting of Therians in the city Vila Real. The event caused a sharp public reaction and ultimately did not take place.

Mental health and social behavior experts are monitoring the development of this phenomenon, especially given its popularity among adolescents and young adults. At the same time OMV focuses not on condemnation, but on the legal side of the issue: veterinary medicine is intended for animals, and a person, no matter how he calls himself, remains a patient of the human healthcare system.

The story looks almost anecdotal, but there is a very serious part to it. Social networks are increasingly turning personal identities and teenage subcultures into public conflicts, and professional organizations are forced to prescribe rules for situations that until recently would have seemed like a script for a satirical show.

Self-identification and medical reality

The therian story looks almost anecdotal, but there is a serious question in it: where personal self-identification ends and objective reality begins.

Similar disputes arise in other areas of medicine when a person’s self-identification comes into conflict with biological or the legal framework of a particular medical service. For example, a man who identifies as a woman goes to the gynecologisthe is refused services, he takes the doctor to court.

However, in medicine the key criterion remains not only how a person defines himselfbut the presence of specific organs, physiological risks and medical indications. Gynecologistfor example, does not deal with “femininity” as a social category, but with diseases and conditions associated with the female reproductive system, pregnancy, hormonal issues, mammary glands and a number of related medical problems.

Therefore, the situation does not always boil down to a simple formula. Transgender manwhose uterus, ovaries or cervix are preserved may require gynecological care. Transgender womanwho does not have female reproductive organs, does not need a gynecological examination of the cervix or uterus, which she does not have.

In this sense situation with therians and veterinarians looks simpler legally: a person who considers himself an animal, still remains human and cannot be a patient of a veterinary clinic.

In other words, if a person called himself a car, and he has problems, he needs to go not to a car repair shop, but to a psychiatrist.

Help: who are therians and how do they differ from quadrobers

Therians are people who psychologically, spiritually or symbolically associate themselves with a particular animal. For some it is a form of internal identity, for others it is a way of self-expression, part of an Internet subculture or teenage community. Outwardly, this can manifest itself through masks, tails, gestures, imitation of animal behavior and publications on social networks.

At the same time Therianism itself is not considered an official psychiatric diagnosis. Modern psychological descriptions usually consider it as a subcultural or identity practice, as long as the person remains in touch with reality, understands that he remains biologically human, and his behavior does not disrupt everyday life. Some of these people may experience social isolation, behavioral issues, or pre-existing psychological difficulties, but this does not mean that therianism itself is automatically a disease.

Separately, there is a rare psychiatric condition known as clinical lycanthropy or more broadly – zoanthropy. In this case, the person does not simply play a role or use an animal image to express himself, but has a delusional belief that he has actually turned or is turning into an animal. This may already be associated with serious mental conditions and requires medical attention.

@whiteaquri #therian #theriansafeplace #therianthropy #theriangear?? #quadrobicsjump ♬ original sound – ???????♛

@whiteaquri #therian #theriansafeplace #therianthropy #theriangear?? #quadrobicsjump ♬ original sound – arq

Quadrobers – a close, but not identical phenomenon. Usually we are talking primarily about imitation of animal movements, movement on all fours, acrobatics, masks and rollers for TikTok. Quadrobing can be a game, a sport, a performance art, or a teenage fashion, and does not necessarily involve a person’s belief that he is an animal.

@teffi_kvd Papa…was? #teffi #therian #kvdgathering #quadrobist #quadrobic #quadrober #quad #quadrobic #meeting #20k ♬ original sound – ༄ᴛᴇꜰꜰɪ?

The boundary is where the game or symbolic identity ends and the loss of contact with reality begins. If a teenager puts on a fox mask, runs on all fours and films, this may be strange to adults, but in itself is not a diagnosis. If a person seriously demands to be treated like an animal, refuses conventional medical care, or is sure that he has biologically ceased to be a person, then this is already a reason for a professional psychological or psychiatric assessment.

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