Animal stereotypes
Do you think sharks are cute? 99.9 % of people will say they’re monsters. That is how most people think. But this is a massive problem that needs to be fixed, let me explain. Do you think a puppy is cute? 95% will say yes, now you can see the differences. But sharks are underwater puppies as well. Society is very picky about which animals are “good and bad”. Only 5 people get injured from shark attacks every year, and that’s because the shark just wanted to sniff you. A hunter kills more animals in a year. A hunter is more dangerous than a shark. Just like sharks many other animals are stereotyped.
These include snakes, tigers, lions, bears, rabbits, wolves, cows, rats, hens, etc. All these animals are stereotyped. For example, tigers, they’re described as killing machines. So, a child grows up learning that a tiger is some kind of an evil machine that must be made extinct. That stereotype influences people. And as a result, the tiger population has become vulnerable. Even cartoons can do this, innocent fiction stories can also stereotype animals. Rabbits are considered animals as food for other animals and hunters. There are a lot of stories about rabbits, these stories convey the message that rabbits are only in this world to provide food to other living beings. I mean, it’s a really stupid message ultimately. You will see Tiktoks that pretend to cook rabbits which only supports the stereotype. All the other animals are given some kind of stereotype or another.
We must understand that all animals are living beings, not objects we can treat based on our assumptions! All animals are capable of affection, love, and bonding with humans if we let them. The mother lion loves her cub just the same way we love our children. All animals, no matter how many teeth they have or their position in the food chain, are capable of having emotions just like us. There is not one stereotype about animals that is correct. If we want to save species, we’re going to have to stop stereotyping them. It may not seem like a big issue, but it’s critical if we want to save species. Only when we realize that all living beings are equal, only then will we save lives.
