Stalking the hunting debate : trophy hunting, integrity and ideology

[摘要] Trophy hunting remains a highly contentious issue within environmental spheresof debate. Whether it is morally justifiable for humans to kill other living creaturesfor recreation, even if by doing so generates revenue in aid of their conservation,is a contested issue that will not easily rest and on which there is as yet no clearground for consensus between opposing viewpoints. Within environmentalphilosophy, the topic of the morality of sport hunting has been extensivelydiscussed, with the focus shifting constantly between various moral and ethicaltheories; while in an African context, big game trophy hunting continues to be avital source of income for wildlife conservation and rural communities amidst thecontested meaning of its role and place. The phrase the hunting debate refersto the ongoing discourses that surround the contested meaning and morality ofrecreational hunting, while the groups involved in the debate are polarised alongthe lines of preservationist and conservationist viewpoints.The lack of consensual ground between opposing viewpoints and the strength ofthe conviction of held beliefs and values result in a stalemate. In this thesis anattempt is made to map this stalemate by identifying the role players relevant toan African context, and the groups who stand in opposition to one another,namely those within the anti-hunting and pro-hunting communities. Points ofcontention are highlighted, and the various moral theories inherent in the debateare identified, with the crux of the stalemate being shown to be essentiallybetween deontological moral assumptions regarding the wrongness of hunting,and utilitarian approaches that attempt to justify it morally according to anaggregation of benefits. The meaning of hunting for the Ethical Hunter is alsoclarified, as is the meaning of the hunting experience as a philosophical andhistorical symbolic construction.The political nature of the debate is also explored against the backdrop of apostmodern description of culture and communities, as is the way in whichcertain symbols are employed as ideological tools within the debate, and howthey serve to influence public opinion regarding the morality of hunting. Thehunting experience is discussed in detail as a historical construct, and certainhunting narratives are briefly identified in this regard, as are the symbolisms ofindigenous hunter-gatherer hunting practices. This is in order to identifysimilarities or differences in meaning of the hunting experience, and so doingreach a position to say what hunting with integrity may mean.Integrity as a Virtue is promoted as the founding conceptual criterion aroundwhich discussions of trophy hunting may be based, and trophy hunting of the BigFive species in Africa is contextually explored with this notion in mind. Whiletrophy hunting of the Big Five offers tangible and much needed instrumentalbenefits, it does not stand up well to a critique of the hunting experience as ahistorical construct and as a commodified package, as The Hunting Experience inthis sense is seen to lack authenticity in terms of an idealised and primitivistnotion of the meaning of Ethical Hunting. The paradox of Big Five trophy huntingis that it is very hard to justify, as it is seen to reinforce dualistic assumptions ofnature, and objectify animals as a commodity; notwithstanding the moraluncertainty surrounding the act it can, however, be seen to offer benefits that arepragmatic and tangible, for ecosystems as well as humans. However, with theexception of strictly utilitarian approaches, the findings of this thesis suggest thatinstrumental economic benefits are not enough to justify trophy hunting of the BigFive in Africa from a moral philosophical perspective, although in keeping with theaims of the study no attempt is made to posit one moral position over another asto the morality of trophy hunting.In conclusion, it is suggested that trophy hunting be de-emphasised as aninevitable and singularly viable wildlife management tool, and instead beunderstood in terms of a short-term strategic compromise, as doing so allowsmore room for the growth of ideas that may offer an acceptable alternative.Based upon the findings of this study, it is acknowledged that such a compromiseis essentially and theoretically also a compromise of integrity, which maynevertheless within certain contexts be necessary in the short-term.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University