Bernice Bovenkerk
Biographic Data
| ID | 5125152 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bernice Bovenkerk |
| GIVEN NAMES | Bernice |
| FAMILY NAME | Bovenkerk |
| SIGNATURE | BOVENKERK B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wageningen University & Research |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3955-2430 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 17 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Beyond Natural, Normal, Necessary, Nice
Dairy is the second largest greenhouse gas emitter in animal agriculture and requires the killing of animals. Most people wish to avoid harming animals and the climate but also consume meat. Consumers subconsciously use coping strategies to reduce cognitive dissonance caused by this meat paradox. But is there also a dairy paradox? For this exploratory study, we used focus groups to investigate cognitive dissonance and coping strategies related to…
Objectivity Killed the Cat? Navigating Conservation Ethics in Feral Cat Management in Australia
Feral cat management in Australia highlights tensions between traditional conservation and compassionate conservation. Drawing on 19 interviews and ethnographic research with practitioners involved in feral cat management, we examine how ethical complexities are navigated in practice and explore the potential to bridge the gap between these approaches. The article demonstrates that protecting biodiversity is reinforced as the default goal through…
What matters
Invasive alien species (IAS) are globally considered major drivers of biodiversity loss. Because invasion science—the field studying IAS—informs policy and management, its normative underpinnings have become a subject of controversy. Historically, invasion science has aligned with traditional conservation, which is an ecocentric approach to conservation that recognises intrinsic value in natural collectives. This article examines debates surround…
Christopher Preston. Tenacious Beasts
No Such Thing as Containment? Gene Drives for Conservation and the (Im)possibility of an Island
This article explores the use of islands as tools of geographical and intellectual containment - or what we call “islanding” - in the scientific and policy literature about gene drive technologies in conservation. In the first part of the article, we explore the narrative of contained gene drive use on islands and discuss how it juggles notions of localness and localization of gene drives and their (test) releases. We question the possibility and…
Gene Drives as Interventions into Nature
Gene drives are potentially ontologically and morally disruptive technologies. The potential to shape evolutionary processes and to eradicate (e.g. malaria-transmitting or invasive) populations raises ontological questions about evolution, nature, and wilderness. The transformative promises and perils of gene drives also raise pressing ethical and political concerns. The aim of this article is to arrive at a better understanding of the gene drive…
Dogs in Dutch Media
Dogs are considered humans’ best friend, but this relationship is not all puppies and sunshine. Zoonoses, biting incidents, hereditary problems, and other welfare issues can threaten the relationship, especially when humans are not aware of them. Public opinion on dogs in the densely populated Netherlands was therefore examined. Dutch newspapers and Facebook were analyzed with frame analysis. A positive view of dogs seems predominant, followed by…
Of Mammoths and Megalomaniacs
In this article, two ways of thinking about the potential disruptiveness of de-extinction and gene drives for conservation are presented. The first way of thinking zooms in on particular technologies and assesses the disruptiveness of their potential implications. This approach is exemplified by a framework proposed by Hopster (2021) that is used to conduct our assessment. The second way of thinking turns the logic of the first around. Here, the …
The elephant in the room is really a cow
Implementing the European Green Deal requires a consistent food systems’ policy that involves not only targeting the supply side but also conducting extensive changes in diets at the consumer level. Reducing meat consumption is an obvious strategy to put the European food system on track to meet the Green Deal’s goals. This cannot be achieved by focusing solely on consumer choice and individual responsibility. Stronger governance is required to r…
Animals in Our Midst
Ethical Decision-Making in Zoonotic Disease Control
To tackle zoonotic disease threats, a One Health approach is currently commonplace and generally understood as an integrated effort of multiple disciplines to promote the health of humans, animals and the environment. To implement One Health strategies in zoonotic disease control, many countries set up early warning systems, in which human and veterinary health professionals cooperate. These systems, like the Dutch Zoonoses Structure, can be succ…
Responsible Innovation for Life
In this special issue we will investigate, from the perspective of agricultural ethics (e.g. animal welfare, agricultural and food ethics, environmental ethics etc.) the potential to develop a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) approach to agriculture, and the limitations to such an enterprise. RRI is an emerging field in the European research and innovation (R&I) policy context that aims to balance economic, socio-cultural and environment…
The Pedigree Dog Breeding Debate in Ethics and Practice
Pedigree dog breeding has been the subject of public debate due to health problems caused by breeding for extreme looks and the narrow genepool of many breeds. Our research aims to provide insights in order to further the animal-ethical, political and society-wide discussion regarding the future of pedigree dog breeding in the Netherlands. Guided by the question ‘How far are we allowed to interfere in the genetic make-up of dogs, through breeding…
Animal Ethics in the Age of Humans
This book provides reflection on the increasingly blurry boundaries that characterize the human-animal relationship. In the Anthropocene humans and animals have come closer together and this asks for rethinking old divisions. In this book, researchers at the cutting edge of their fields systematically examine the broad field of human-animal relations, dealing with wild, liminal, and domestic animals, with conservation, and zoos, and with technolo…
Fish Welfare
The combination between ethics and science in the field of animal welfare is not novel. Nonetheless, when we think of this combination in the area of fish welfare, novel considerations arise (cf. Huntingford et al. 2006). This was the reason to organize an expert meeting aiming to bring together a variety of academic disciplines that are involved in welfare studies to discuss fish welfare. This expert meeting about fish welfare and its moral impl…
Fish Welfare in Aquaculture
Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal-production sector in the world. This leads to the question how we should guarantee fish welfare. Implementing welfare standards presupposes that we know how to weigh, define, and measure welfare. While at first glance these seem empirical questions, they cannot be answered without ethical reflection. Normative assumptions are made when weighing, defining, and measuring welfare. Moreover, the focus on welf…
The Moral Status of Fish. The Importance and Limitations of a Fundamental Discussion for Practical Ethical Questions in Fish Farming
As the world population is growing and government directives tell us to consume more fatty acids, the demand for fish is increasing. Due to declines in wild fish populations, we have come to rely more and more on aquaculture. Despite rapid expansion of aquaculture, this sector is still in a relatively early developmental stage. This means that this sector can still be steered in a favorable direction, which requires discussion about sustainabilit…
To Act or Not to Act? Sheltering Animals from the Wild
The leading question of this article is whether it is acceptable, from a moral point of view, to take wild animals that are ill out of their natural habitat and temporarily bring them under human control with the purpose of curing them. To this end the so-called 'seal debate' was examined. In the Netherlands, seals that are lost or ill are rescued and taken into shelters, where they are cured and afterwards reintroduced into their natural environ…
Brave New Birds
Suppose "chicken" eggs could be produced by quasi-chickens--genetically engineered humps of living chicken-flesh that do nothing but lay eggs. Would there be anything amiss with that? Animal ethicists invoke the notion of animal integrity in order to give intellectual content to the intuition that there would be. On inspection, 'integrity' isn't everything its proponents want it to be. Yet there's enough in it to make reasoned argument possible
Animals in Our Midst
Responsible Innovation for Life
In this special issue we will investigate, from the perspective of agricultural ethics (e.g. animal welfare, agricultural and food ethics, environmental ethics etc.) the potential to develop a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) approach to agriculture, and the limitations to such an enterprise. RRI is an emerging field in the European research and innovation (R&I) policy context that aims to balance economic, socio-cultural and environment…
The Pedigree Dog Breeding Debate in Ethics and Practice
Pedigree dog breeding has been the subject of public debate due to health problems caused by breeding for extreme looks and the narrow genepool of many breeds. Our research aims to provide insights in order to further the animal-ethical, political and society-wide discussion regarding the future of pedigree dog breeding in the Netherlands. Guided by the question ‘How far are we allowed to interfere in the genetic make-up of dogs, through breeding…
To Act or Not to Act? Sheltering Animals from the Wild
The leading question of this article is whether it is acceptable, from a moral point of view, to take wild animals that are ill out of their natural habitat and temporarily bring them under human control with the purpose of curing them. To this end the so-called 'seal debate' was examined. In the Netherlands, seals that are lost or ill are rescued and taken into shelters, where they are cured and afterwards reintroduced into their natural environ…
Of Mammoths and Megalomaniacs
In this article, two ways of thinking about the potential disruptiveness of de-extinction and gene drives for conservation are presented. The first way of thinking zooms in on particular technologies and assesses the disruptiveness of their potential implications. This approach is exemplified by a framework proposed by Hopster (2021) that is used to conduct our assessment. The second way of thinking turns the logic of the first around. Here, the …
The elephant in the room is really a cow
Implementing the European Green Deal requires a consistent food systems’ policy that involves not only targeting the supply side but also conducting extensive changes in diets at the consumer level. Reducing meat consumption is an obvious strategy to put the European food system on track to meet the Green Deal’s goals. This cannot be achieved by focusing solely on consumer choice and individual responsibility. Stronger governance is required to r…
Brave New Birds
Suppose "chicken" eggs could be produced by quasi-chickens--genetically engineered humps of living chicken-flesh that do nothing but lay eggs. Would there be anything amiss with that? Animal ethicists invoke the notion of animal integrity in order to give intellectual content to the intuition that there would be. On inspection, 'integrity' isn't everything its proponents want it to be. Yet there's enough in it to make reasoned argument possible
To Act or Not to Act? Sheltering Animals from the Wild
The leading question of this article is whether it is acceptable, from a moral point of view, to take wild animals that are ill out of their natural habitat and temporarily bring them under human control with the purpose of curing them. To this end the so-called 'seal debate' was examined. In the Netherlands, seals that are lost or ill are rescued and taken into shelters, where they are cured and afterwards reintroduced into their natural environ…
The Moral Status of Fish. The Importance and Limitations of a Fundamental Discussion for Practical Ethical Questions in Fish Farming
As the world population is growing and government directives tell us to consume more fatty acids, the demand for fish is increasing. Due to declines in wild fish populations, we have come to rely more and more on aquaculture. Despite rapid expansion of aquaculture, this sector is still in a relatively early developmental stage. This means that this sector can still be steered in a favorable direction, which requires discussion about sustainabilit…
Fish Welfare
The combination between ethics and science in the field of animal welfare is not novel. Nonetheless, when we think of this combination in the area of fish welfare, novel considerations arise (cf. Huntingford et al. 2006). This was the reason to organize an expert meeting aiming to bring together a variety of academic disciplines that are involved in welfare studies to discuss fish welfare. This expert meeting about fish welfare and its moral impl…
Fish Welfare in Aquaculture
Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal-production sector in the world. This leads to the question how we should guarantee fish welfare. Implementing welfare standards presupposes that we know how to weigh, define, and measure welfare. While at first glance these seem empirical questions, they cannot be answered without ethical reflection. Normative assumptions are made when weighing, defining, and measuring welfare. Moreover, the focus on welf…
Animal Ethics in the Age of Humans
This book provides reflection on the increasingly blurry boundaries that characterize the human-animal relationship. In the Anthropocene humans and animals have come closer together and this asks for rethinking old divisions. In this book, researchers at the cutting edge of their fields systematically examine the broad field of human-animal relations, dealing with wild, liminal, and domestic animals, with conservation, and zoos, and with technolo…
The Pedigree Dog Breeding Debate in Ethics and Practice
Pedigree dog breeding has been the subject of public debate due to health problems caused by breeding for extreme looks and the narrow genepool of many breeds. Our research aims to provide insights in order to further the animal-ethical, political and society-wide discussion regarding the future of pedigree dog breeding in the Netherlands. Guided by the question ‘How far are we allowed to interfere in the genetic make-up of dogs, through breeding…
Responsible Innovation for Life
In this special issue we will investigate, from the perspective of agricultural ethics (e.g. animal welfare, agricultural and food ethics, environmental ethics etc.) the potential to develop a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) approach to agriculture, and the limitations to such an enterprise. RRI is an emerging field in the European research and innovation (R&I) policy context that aims to balance economic, socio-cultural and environment…
Ethical Decision-Making in Zoonotic Disease Control
To tackle zoonotic disease threats, a One Health approach is currently commonplace and generally understood as an integrated effort of multiple disciplines to promote the health of humans, animals and the environment. To implement One Health strategies in zoonotic disease control, many countries set up early warning systems, in which human and veterinary health professionals cooperate. These systems, like the Dutch Zoonoses Structure, can be succ…
Animals in Our Midst
The elephant in the room is really a cow
Implementing the European Green Deal requires a consistent food systems’ policy that involves not only targeting the supply side but also conducting extensive changes in diets at the consumer level. Reducing meat consumption is an obvious strategy to put the European food system on track to meet the Green Deal’s goals. This cannot be achieved by focusing solely on consumer choice and individual responsibility. Stronger governance is required to r…
Gene Drives as Interventions into Nature
Gene drives are potentially ontologically and morally disruptive technologies. The potential to shape evolutionary processes and to eradicate (e.g. malaria-transmitting or invasive) populations raises ontological questions about evolution, nature, and wilderness. The transformative promises and perils of gene drives also raise pressing ethical and political concerns. The aim of this article is to arrive at a better understanding of the gene drive…
Dogs in Dutch Media
Dogs are considered humans’ best friend, but this relationship is not all puppies and sunshine. Zoonoses, biting incidents, hereditary problems, and other welfare issues can threaten the relationship, especially when humans are not aware of them. Public opinion on dogs in the densely populated Netherlands was therefore examined. Dutch newspapers and Facebook were analyzed with frame analysis. A positive view of dogs seems predominant, followed by…
Of Mammoths and Megalomaniacs
In this article, two ways of thinking about the potential disruptiveness of de-extinction and gene drives for conservation are presented. The first way of thinking zooms in on particular technologies and assesses the disruptiveness of their potential implications. This approach is exemplified by a framework proposed by Hopster (2021) that is used to conduct our assessment. The second way of thinking turns the logic of the first around. Here, the …
No Such Thing as Containment? Gene Drives for Conservation and the (Im)possibility of an Island
This article explores the use of islands as tools of geographical and intellectual containment - or what we call “islanding” - in the scientific and policy literature about gene drive technologies in conservation. In the first part of the article, we explore the narrative of contained gene drive use on islands and discuss how it juggles notions of localness and localization of gene drives and their (test) releases. We question the possibility and…
What matters
Invasive alien species (IAS) are globally considered major drivers of biodiversity loss. Because invasion science—the field studying IAS—informs policy and management, its normative underpinnings have become a subject of controversy. Historically, invasion science has aligned with traditional conservation, which is an ecocentric approach to conservation that recognises intrinsic value in natural collectives. This article examines debates surround…
Christopher Preston. Tenacious Beasts
Beyond Natural, Normal, Necessary, Nice
Dairy is the second largest greenhouse gas emitter in animal agriculture and requires the killing of animals. Most people wish to avoid harming animals and the climate but also consume meat. Consumers subconsciously use coping strategies to reduce cognitive dissonance caused by this meat paradox. But is there also a dairy paradox? For this exploratory study, we used focus groups to investigate cognitive dissonance and coping strategies related to…
Objectivity Killed the Cat? Navigating Conservation Ethics in Feral Cat Management in Australia
Feral cat management in Australia highlights tensions between traditional conservation and compassionate conservation. Drawing on 19 interviews and ethnographic research with practitioners involved in feral cat management, we examine how ethical complexities are navigated in practice and explore the potential to bridge the gap between these approaches. The article demonstrates that protecting biodiversity is reinforced as the default goal through…
Environmental ethics (15 works) · Biology (12 works) · Philosophy (11 works) · Ecology (8 works) · Political science (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Philosophy (6 works)