The use of animals as a methaphor device has been around for ages. Even one interpretation of 'Watership Down' -- granted, you can sit there and dig into that book all day, and I'll be frank and admit this is only one way of looking at it -- shows the rabbit warrens as representing different types of government institutions (the orginal warren was a monarchy, Cowslips's was a socialist, Woundwart's was a dictatorship, and Hazel-rah's was a democracy). So here the rabbits and their warrens are representing something human. And in literature this is quite commen. Look at the complex societies in Kipling's 'The Jungle Books'. There is a complex list of rules that Mowgli must learn to find in the jungle -- but as commentors are fond to point out, most of these laws are universal for every animal (like not to drink too deep -- most animals cannot run on a full stomach). Another example is Orwell's 'Animal Farm'. Here, Stalin is given the form of a pig, and the sheep represent the mob.
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