Fuzzy Nation (paperback) [Scalzi, John]

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, ridiculously cute small furry creatures--who are as much people as we are.