I agree Alice, anthropomorphism blinds us to the realities of the animal kingdom, whether our reasons are fear-based and hostile, or well-meaning yet patronising.
It also feeds into a popular philosophy which encourages the destruction of anything that has the ability to cause one harm, but when we act out of fear we are capable of showing our ugly sides.
I think that where possible, its better to deal with the fear than the object of it - often a little more knowledge removes the fear.
As ever, other opinions are equally valid.