In Britain at least, the history between Wizarding kind and the Merpeople has been an uphill struggle, in part due to our instinctly human need to categorize everything and anything. Elfrida Clagg, former Chieftainess for the Wizards Council had decided that the classification 'Being' was reserved for creatures that could speak the human tongue. This of course, even for the time was highly controversial. Trolls became classed as 'Beings' and would often destroy rooms during council meetings. Jarvey's were also present and were quite fond of nipping at the wizard's ankles.

The Centaurs boycotted the meetings, knowing the Merpeople had been classed wrongly as beasts. However when Minister Grogan Stump overturned the ruling in the 1800's and allowed Merpeople the opportunity to become Beings, both the Centaurs and the Merpeople refused the classification, preferring instead to be classed as 'Beasts' in order to not be grouped under the same category as Vampires and Hags.