Fuzzy Nation

ZaraCorp holds the right to extract unlimited resources from the verdant planet Zarathustra―as long as the planet is certifiably free of native sentients. So when an outback prospector discovers a species of small, appealing bipeds who might well turn out to be intelligent, language-using beings, it's a race to stop the corporation from "eliminating the problem," which is to say, eliminating the Fuzzies―wide-eyed and ridiculously cute small, and furry―who are as much people as we are.