Why is it that spider,snakes,scorpions,sharks,and lizards never get any love? People go all crazy for domestic  cats, which kill bird and amphibian populations, spread rabies, and generally cause trouble. Yet people kill spiders on site, even though they eat insects, and are far more interesting. Sorry for the bias. 

I don't like cats either, but each to their own. I prefer dogs. They are the only mammals I really like, apart from maybe bovines. I find reptiles and amphibians in general more interesting and "cuter". I'd totally choose a pet monitor lizard over a cat any day I know that makes me a bit odd, but oh well.

Shark finning is very sad

There is a definite 'fluffy' bias!

It is something I have frequently been confronted with from early childhood on. The bias towards cuteness is inevitable to some extent but in Europe and America there are also cultural reasons for aversions against invertebrates and reptiles and amphibians. Snakes, frogs, and locusts are depicted as evil or desastrous. In medieval Europe, dragons were the impersonated evil nature that had to be defeated (the motive of the dragon slayer symbolises the victory of mankind over chaotic nature). And few of these were domesticated or of any commercial value (except for honey bees, silkworms were not reared outside of China until much later). Even though people today seldom dislike these animals for religious reasons the general aversion has been handed down over centuries. And all the ridiculous myths about how dangerous even completely harmless animals may be - many people actually believe that any person stung by a dragonfly three times will die (okay, actually nobody even survived a single dragonfly sting... because nobody ever was stung, how would a dragonfly do that without a sting? ). Things may look very different in other countries, e.g. Japan where Stag Beetles and Rhinoceros Beetles are among the most popular pets. But I have the feeling that over the last two decades or so arthropods, reptiles, and amphibians have become increasingly popular although the majority still remains "fluffy" biased.

Quote from: tyrantqueen on November 18, 2013, 10:12:37 PM
I don't like cats either, but each to their own. I prefer dogs. They are the only mammals I really like, apart from maybe bovines. I find reptiles and amphibians in general more interesting and "cuter". I'd totally choose a pet monitor lizard over a cat any day I know that makes me a bit odd, but oh well.

Shark finning is very sad

Yes it is.