Thanks so much for the signal boost!

Welcome! <3 Just so sad that it even had to be brought up as an issue. :(

True. Sad but true. We all know some members of the fandom have personal space issues and don't think twice about harassing people. What scares me is how many people have reported being physically grabbed at cons...that is assault!!! And seeing so many predator-fursona people literally saying that if you have a herbivore character you are "asking for it" reeks of rape culture. Creeping me out over here. :(

Yep, exactly. :(

I only recently made a new sona and its a herbivore. Knowing there is this kind of harassment makes me uncomfortable that I will end up being subject to it.

I totally understand, and this is exactly why this issue needs to be brought to light, so that no one ever has to be uncomfortable having such a char. The harassment and trolling (even the comments just meant as a "harmless joke") needs to stop, and the more outspoken we are about it, the better!

Too true!!!

We're trying to raise awareness so the harassment will end. :)

Oh yikes, I didn't even know this was an issue! :0

Yep...in the past, hubby and I had to leave/avoid general furry chatrooms and stick to ones specific to avian species just to avoid being treated as "prey" all the time, and he even IS a bird of prey, and I'm half dog. If someone has a char that's an herbivore, insectivore (especially if they look rodent-ish), or a bird of any kind, they are very likely to be harassed. :P

That's super rude D: Unless the person asks to take part in predator/prey RPing or whatnot, it's just inconsiderate to treat them like food.

Exactly...and thus the whole point of the survey. :) And it's not just in chatrooms, but innumerable times when artists post images of their herbivore chars, they'll get rude comments from people regarding them as nothing but "food". :P

This conversation inspired me to draw this quick dumb comic :B http://i.imgur.com/BSCsG6X.jpg Windfalcon just wants to cuddle pigeons, not eat them.

D'awww!! :D <333 (I'm the same way...love all pigeons!!)

Awww, that is so cute!!! :D I love it!!!!!

Hey there, I have a question...I'm thinking of making a blog or website to help spread the word, would it be OK if I posted that adorable comic on it? Full credit and a link to your gallery and all of course. :)

Sure, no problem! :3

Awesome, thanks! I link you once it's up, I'm waiting for more time to pass so I can use the survey results. :)

Since i generally play my character as a straight up cervine Hannibal Lecter, i don't think i have ever had this problem before!

Haha, good to know! :D (And deer ARE dangerous!!) :)

I'm so glad that someone made one of these! I've gotten a couple of uncomfortable comments because I'm a caribou and that has made me a bit iffy about posting more caribou artwork. I hope this will help in bringing the issue to light so folks will stop posting such uncomfortable comments as well as stop harassing "prey" species all together!

A lot of people I know have had this happen to them, including bird chars (epescially ducks, chickens and the like), so yeah, it really needs to stop. :( Please feel free to spread the word about the survey, if you can! :)

I'm certainly telling my herbivore, avian, rodent, and other similar friends about this survey!

Thanks so much, the more who take the survey, the more clear the issue will be (I hope) so it can stop. :)

You're very welcome! I hope that this will help take care of the problem!

Interesting...... I have never seen nor heard of this problem before.
I suppose being a Dragon removes me from the Food Chain and leaves me out of such instances, and perhaps help's to explain the fear I seem to constantly encounter when I reveal who or what I Truly am.
I simply can not comprehend the reason for this sort of harassment.......can we all not get along?
I Love ALL creatures, Both Big and Small.....not eat them.

Hmm...I didn't even know this was an issue. But I am both carnivore AND herbivore (but most often insectivore (though not IRL of coarse >_< ) but then...my insectivore is covered in QUILLS, so...yeah. XP Also, I habitually put her through WAY more crap than she ever gets at cons. XP), as I am shapeshifter.

But no, I haven't really experienced any harassment due to food chain location. O.o I'm going to a con next month...Is it something I might have to worry about? But I DO wear a 'no hugs' (I do kind of wish that instead of 'ask first' it said 'I have quills' XP (Aka, 'No hugs...I have quills')) tag when I go to cons, and that seems to have been effective in the past.

But I DO have an equine that represents my younger years. She doesn't show up as often anymore, but she is there to pay homage to what I was when younger.

The other two are carnivores though (although one is (commonly believed to be) extinct), so that kinda evens it out.

But, since I see myself mainly as a shapeshifter, (read: can't decide on ONE form XP) I have the potential to be predator OR prey, so...

I'm rambling, heh.

But then...the only glomp I've ever gotten (before I got that 'no hugs' badge) was because apparently they thought I was adorable, but it still made me uncomfortable, so...hence why I got that tag.

Snow leopards. :p

Happy news, actually — wolves are very tentatively repopulating bits of the Alps. So you might find yourself having to be wary...

(but please do not read this comment as being an example of the problem Dogsoul was describing :))

Haha!
Hmm, aren't they also called steinbock? I thought I read that somewhere, but I don't recall for sure.

this has never been a problem for me but I sorta stick to my own circle of friends and don't talk much to other furs.

Fish are friends, not food.
Jeez people.

Seriously tho:
I didn't know this was an issue, even though I spent a year or so as a pure unicorn (I am now a SnowMewCorn - Snow Leopard x Unicorn...though sometimes I'll just tell people UniKitty to simplify things xD)

Since the equine part is so minimal in my character, not really sure I'd get targeted for this...

However, saying that I can say this is not right, and I /do/ understand how theyfeel. As I am a sub in the D/s community often people who don't know better (or who do and are just douches) think that wearing a collar or pet play gear or even my regular fuzz means it's okay to just come up and touch me without asking. Some take it even farther by trying to order me around and/or getting mad if they identify as a dom and I refuse to address them by Sir/Ma'am (which I reserve only for my Dom or those who have earned my respect).

Goodness... this has never happened to me at all. Actually, I've never had anything but polite, wonderful interactions with other suiters and with other folks, of all species.

Rotten that it's happened to other folks though, that's just not okay at all. I'm sorry to hear that it has been a problem for some and can totally see how that would be utterly uncomfortable.

Indeed, I'm pretty blown away by how many people have been physically grabbed against their will- that is technically assault! :( What really sparked my ire was when some people posted harassing comments and people asked them to stop, the response was that if you have a herbivore character, you are "asking for it." Undercurrent of rape culture much? D:

In my experience most suiters are great, friendly people, but unfortunately from time to time you can run into a that one jerk out of the bunch.

I was looking at the answers and it seems like most people don't have this issue? One case is too many, of course, but it is kind of a relief to see that people taking the survey are by and large unaffected.

My character is an herbivore (folivore, more specifically) but I'm not really a typical "prey" species for wolves, foxes, and other popular fandom creatures. I can happily say I've ever experienced this issue at any point. Sloths are only really preyed upon by very specific creatures, such as jaguars, harpy eagles and large snakes. I haven't seen a single furry with a 'sona of any of those species :P