Has an Ugly Caw
The Moral Implications of How Hunting Organizations Depict Nonhuman Animals
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2162425 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jenna Aarnio (0009-0001-0305-7569, University of Turku), Elisa Aaltola (0000-0002-0964-0173, University of Turku) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 37-54 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Anthrozoös (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0892-7936 • E-ISSN: 1753-0377 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/08927936.2023.2266923 |
| OpenAlex | W4388530215 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 38 |
We examined how four hunting organizations in Finland and in the UK (The Finnish Wildlife Agency, Finnish Hunters' Association, The British Association for Shooting and Conservation, and Countryside Alliance) describe wild animals on their web pages and what the moral implications of these descriptions are. How do these hunting organizations define animals, and how does this impact the moral regard given to these animals? Using discourse analysis together with philosophical analysis, our examination revealed that the descriptions focus mainly on physical attributes, leaving out the minds of animals. Therefore, hunting organizations take part in dementalization (underestimation or denial of minds) of nonhuman animals, which interlinks with mechanomorphism (the depiction of animals as biological machines). We argue that dementalization and mechanomorphism in the descriptions serve a strategic purpose, as they hinder the possibility of recognizing animal experiences and individuality and keep animal ethical questions out of view. Further, the organizations tend to approach the ethics of hunting through the perspective of human interests only, whilst the interests and inherent value of animals are sidelined. In sum, the way in which hunting organizations depict animals is prone to sidelining ethical issues concerning the killing of animals
Agency (philosophy · Alliance · Animal ethics · Animal welfare · Biology · Denial · Depiction · Environmental ethics · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Wildlife · Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Human-Animal Interaction Studies · Psychology · Ecology · Law
Taking Animals Seriously
Don’t Mind Meat? The Denial of Mind to Animals Used for Human Consumption
An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
Nature and Society
Social learning theory
The Importance of Wild-Animal Suffering
Disentangling Obligations of Assistance
The Recognition of Animal Sentience by the Law
Animal Suffering
The Case For Animal Rights
Understanding the Link between Animal Cruelty and Family Violence
Killing with kindness
The impact of modernization on hunting ethics
The Changing Wildlife Tableau of Hunting Magazine Covers
Rationalizing meat consumption. The 4Ns
Efforts to overcome vegetarian-induced dissonance among meat eaters
The role of meat consumption in the denial of moral status and mind to meat animals
A Critical Analysis of Hunters’ Ethics
Dreadful/Delightful Killing
Enacting public understandings
Recreational Hunting
Flights of passion
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |