16. THE UGLY ANIMAL PRESERVATION SOCIETY
Uglier animals are neglected. I set up the Ugly Animal Preservation Society as a tongue in cheek way of trying to redress the fact that the cute and cuddly species like the panda dominate natural history books and TV shows. By being blinded by beautiful aniamls, we not only miss out on the joys of hearing about some fantastically weird and wonderful creatures, but we might actually be harming our planet. This preference for the charismatic megafauna is not just contained to the telly though.
Though invertebrates make up about 79% of animal life, they are only covered in 11% of conservation literature. Ugly animals are less likely to be researched, never mind protected. This taxonomic bias constrains the capacity to identify conservation risk and to implement effective responses
Discrimination against unattractive animals
OTHER NAMES:
Misguided promotion of animal cuteness
Animal lookism
Active prejudice towards ugly animals
NATURE:
Tendency to favour and protect more adorable species, such as foals, puppies and bunnies, while ignoring the equally valid claims of seemingly less attractive animals such as reptiles and rats.
BROADER PROBLEMS:
Discrimination against non-human species
Unethical practices with domesticated animals
RELATED PROBLEMS:
Discrimination against unattractive people
STRATEGIES:
The Ugly Animal Preservation Society was established in2012 to raise the profile of some of nature's more asthetically challenged creatures. For too long the cute and cuddly creatures have ruled the roost! Everyone already know the panda, the polar bear, and the snow leopard. Isn't time about time we heard more about the dromedry jumping slug, the aye aye, and the blob fish.
A study published last year found that ‘ugly’ animals, including certain species of rodent and bat native to the country, are at risk of extinction because they don’t attract as much research and conservation funding.
