According to fandom historian Fred Patten, the concept of furry originated at a science fiction convention in 1980, when a character drawing from Steve Gallacci’s Albedo Anthropomorphics started a discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furry_fandom
The furry fandom is a subculture interested in fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furry_fandom
Homosexuality and bisexuality are overrepresented in the furry fandom, by about a factor of 10 compared to the United States average self-identified rates of 1.8% bisexuality and 1.7% homosexuality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furry_fandom
One of the most universal behaviors in the furry fandom is the creation of a fursona – an anthropomorphic animal representation or avatar. More than 95% of furries have a fursona – an anthropomorphic avatar or representation of themselves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furry_fandom
Did you know that Furry fandom, a thriving community of fans interested in art, costumes, stories, and games featuring anthropomorphic animals, has existed for more than 30 years? Furry Fandom Infocenter is a useful starting point for people interested in furries and Furry fandom.
http://www.furryfandom.info/
The interest itself may be as old as civilization. Anthropomorphic animal characters are found in the art of many ancient cultures. Anthropomorphic characters from Egyptian mythology continue to this day to be a source of inspiration to furry artists, as do aspects of Native American animal related spirituality. The earliest example of anthropomorphic literature commonly cited by furry fans is Aesop's Fables, which dates to around 500 BC.
http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/History
The first usenet newsgroups began to appear in the early 1990s. alt.fan.furry was created in late 1990, and eventually spawned a number of additional newsgroups, such as alt.lifestyle.furry which was created in 1996. Furrynet, an unofficial usenet hierarchy of fur.* newsgroups, was created in the late 1990s.
http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/History
Furry fandom is the collective of people who express an interest in anthropomorphic animals in art, literature, cartoons, pop culture and any other use of animal characters with human attributes.
http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/History
However, fans consider the origins of furry fandom to be much earlier, with fictional works such as Kimba, The White Lion released in 1965, Richard Adams' novel Watership Down, published in 1972 (and its 1978 film adaptation), as well as Disney's Robin Hood as oft-cited examples.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furry_fandom
Furries are fictional anthropomorphized animal characters used in artwork and stories. Furry fandom celebrates artwork, writing, and costumes focused on anthropomorphic animal characters. Some of the animal costumes, known as fursuits, can cost thousands of dollars.
http://www.furryfandom.info/
when did furries start
Furries was started in 1980. Furries started in 1980.