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This is a subtrope of Carnivore Confusion. In fiction, particularly if the prey can talk, carnivores are often Always Chaotic Evil, and all the heroes are herbivores. The predator's desire to eat the prey makes the predator a villain, or at least, a Designated Villain. If the heroes are mice, for instance, this often means that Cats Are Mean. In works involving talking animals, carnivores almost always fail to catch their prey. A lot of times, their prey actually defeats them. Examples of Predators Are Mean include:

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  • Predators Are Mean
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  • This is a subtrope of Carnivore Confusion. In fiction, particularly if the prey can talk, carnivores are often Always Chaotic Evil, and all the heroes are herbivores. The predator's desire to eat the prey makes the predator a villain, or at least, a Designated Villain. If the heroes are mice, for instance, this often means that Cats Are Mean. In works involving talking animals, carnivores almost always fail to catch their prey. A lot of times, their prey actually defeats them. Examples of Predators Are Mean include:
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  • This is a subtrope of Carnivore Confusion. In fiction, particularly if the prey can talk, carnivores are often Always Chaotic Evil, and all the heroes are herbivores. The predator's desire to eat the prey makes the predator a villain, or at least, a Designated Villain. If the heroes are mice, for instance, this often means that Cats Are Mean. In works involving talking animals, carnivores almost always fail to catch their prey. A lot of times, their prey actually defeats them. This is by far the most common way to deal with predators in talking animal fiction. This trope has been around for a very long time. It may be one of The Oldest Ones in the Book. It can be a bit of a Wall Banger, and a lot of Hypocritical Humor, since Most Writers Are Human, and humans are not just an omnivorous, predatory species, but apex predators to boot! Other problems with this trope include: * The fact that predatory species serve a vital function in nature by keep other animals in check, thus preventing them from over populating and throwing the ecological balance out of whack. * Such creatures are often carnivorous as a fact of their digestive physiology, and thus you cannot simply expect them to "swear off meat-eating" without them becoming dreadfully ill and eventually dying a horrible, painful death. On the other hand, when you're a mouse (a much smaller omnivore species), whatever the cat or the snake or the tarantula chasing you might be like on the inside isn't really relevant when they're trying to eat you. When the story is focusing on a prey animal, there's really not a whole lot of ways to keep predators from being monstrous. Related to this, particularly in Xenofiction, this can overlap with Humans Are Bastards, and maybe even Humans Are Cthulhu. Examples of Predators Are Mean include:
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