In Star Trek lore, it is absolutely possible, and even EASY, to use plastic surgery to change your appearance so much you appear to be another species. There are multiple episodes where a character is kidnapped and surgically altered against their will, and they wake up appearing as a Romulan or a Cardassian or something.
This means it would, in fact, be EXTREMELY easy for someone to get surgery and turn themselves into their fursona. If Star Trek was not cowards, we'd be seeing a bunch of animal people walking around alongside everyone else. Not to mention all the other extreme cosmetic changes, like, y'know, goblinization cough cough.
However, this does not happen. This is because Star Trek writers are cowards. However, there has to be some kind of in lore reason, because logically, we know for a fact that people would do this. This leads me to the theory that furries are illegal in the Federation. At some point in the past, something EXTREMELY BAD happened, and now being a furry is EXTREMELY illegal. I like to imagine the Furry Wars were bloody, and there's a lot of bad blood. Also note when I say furry, I mean like, the humans. Yes, cat people exist. That doesn't count, cause they were already cat people (though I bet there's some Caitian out there who wants plastic surgery to be a Human.
So, my theory is that all the furries in the Federation are A) in jail. Or B) Exiled to some far off planet, sectioned off so no one can go there. You can just find a forgotten planet floating in the cosmos FILLED with furries. A nonstop furry con.
Lower Decks writers, fucking hire me. This is an episode idea or two waiting to happen.
