More specifically, anthropomorphism in conservation is currently limited to popular, social, intelligent animals, such as apes, polar bears, pandas, dolphins, etc. This generally implies that other species that are less "cute" are not as worthy of conservation because they are not like humans in the 'right' ways.
However, according to this research, making conservationists more aware of how people construct anthropomorphic meanings around species, along with how they engage with species and attribute value to their characteristics (like emotions to pets or livestock), they can create conservation programs which "speak to people through their cultural expectations and emotional connections".
Read more about this topic here.
Photo Credit: ScienceDaily.com