Are they barking mad? Hundreds of people who identify as DOGS gather to bark and howl at each other in Germany

Hundreds of people who identify as dogs met in a city center in Germany, where they communicated by barking and howling at each other.

About a thousand ‘transspecies’ activists met at Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz train station in the German capital.

The group said they do not identify as people and instead want to be recognized as puppies.

Video shows dozens in elaborate costumes posing for a group photo outside the station, in what would likely be an unusual scene for commuters to witness.

So-called transspecies people claim that they do not feel or identify as human beings, but instead as specific animals or mythological creatures.

Many online were unimpressed by a local saying: “Just leave them in the Siberian tundra and let them survive with their canine instincts.”

Another person commented: “Can you imagine if they all have to poop?”

One commented: ‘Call animal control and give them the rabies dose.’

And another said: ‘But if they identify as dogs, why are they putting on masks?’

Dog imitators have taken the internet by storm in recent years.

One of the most famous is a Japanese man who identifies as a collie.

The man, known only as Toco, recently went viral for his authentic dog costume.

He spent two million yen (which equates to £12,480) on a lifelike costume to fulfill his lifelong fantasy of ‘becoming an animal’.

Toco became an internet sensation, amassing more than 52,000 subscribers on YouTube when he shared videos of himself being taken for walks – on all fours – and attempting to perform tricks in exchange for fake dog food.

In 2019, British man Tom Peters made headlines when he identified himself as a Dalmatian.