A third Scottish council has admitted that at least one pupil has been allowed to identify as an animal.
The latest local authority disclosed a child in primary school has ‘species dysphoria’ – despite warnings that the condition is a ‘fantasy’.
Last month the Mail revealed that a secondary school pupil in another council area had been allowed to identify as a wolf.
Then earlier this month it emerged a primary pupil was identifying as an unspecified animal in another part of Scotland.
Now a third council has admitted a child in primary school has species dysphoria – but declined to disclose the animal type concerned.
A third Scottish council has confirmed at least one pupil has ‘species dysphoria’ and identifies as animal (file image)
The Mail has chosen not to name the local authorities involved in order to protect the identities of the children – but last night they were criticised for their approach.
Dunbartonshire-based clinical neuropsychologist Dr Tommy MacKay said: ‘Vulnerable children with additional support needs will probably be more prone to falling for these fantasies, and therefore more likely to be made a laughing stock.
‘Also, there will be other children and young people who will realise they can try to make their teachers and classrooms a laughing stock by trying out these ideas.’
‘There is certainly no scientific support for any such condition as “species dysphoria”.’
The council involved in the latest case said ‘no special arrangements have been made yet’ to accommodate pupils with species dysphoria.
Last month the Mail revealed that a secondary school pupil in another council area had been allowed to identify as a wolf
It added: ‘Where appropriate, species dysphoria is approached as an additional support need with the associated assessment process and support options being considered.’
No ‘specific advice has been given to staff, other than [to] follow the usual processes for being inclusive’.
Growing numbers of youngsters are taking on the persona of animals including foxes, dragons, birds, snakes, sharks – and even dinosaurs
Official documents, seen by the Mail last month, confirmed the first known case in Scotland where a school had recognised a pupil identifying as an animal – in that case a wolf.
The local authority said the pupil had ‘species dysphoria’ and is part of a group called ‘furries’ – who see their ‘animal persona’ as a character.
The row comes after a school in Aberdeenshire had to deny rumours last year that a pupil was identifying as a cat, and had been given a litter tray in the toilets.
Last night Dr MacKay told the Mail that species dysphoria ‘has nothing to do with science – it is a sociocultural phenomenon’.
He said: ‘We live in an age of individualism – an age when individuals decide their own identity.
‘It doesn’t matter if that identity is contradicted by every gene and every cell in their body, every fibre in their being.’
Scottish Tory MSP Meghan Gallacher said: ‘Given the challenges our overworked teachers are currently facing as they struggle under the weight of SNP budget cuts, local councils must ensure they are supporting our schools to listen to the evidence and take a common-sense approach to these situations when they occur.’
Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education and a former adviser to the Policy Unit at 10 Downing Street, said: ‘Schools should not be aiding and abetting any child’s mental health crisis.
‘They need to get a grip and show some common sense and leadership.’
Parents warned last month that allowing children to identity as animals could put them at risk from paedophiles – and fails to prepare them for the adult world.
The UFTScotland group, representing parents, said it was ‘completely insane’ for teachers and council education officials to allow pupils to self-identify as animals.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that at a state secondary school in Wales, one student was said to ‘meow’ when asked questions by a teacher.
In other schools, pupils apparently insisted on being addressed as a dinosaur and one claimed to identify as a horse – while another was said to wear a cape and demanded to be acknowledged as a moon.
In 2019, Helen Clegg, a psychologist at the University of Buckingham, led the first comprehensive investigation into the wellbeing and mental health of therians.
She recruited 112 across a broad range of ages, genders, ethnicities and species.
Among them were wolves, foxes, dragons, birds, a snake, a shark and two dinosaurs.
It is understood there is no official guidance from the Scottish Government specifically to support those with species dysphoria – and no plans to produce any.
