Critical Animal Geographies by Collard Rosemary-Claire Gillespie Kathryn

Author:Collard, Rosemary-Claire,Gillespie, Kathryn
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781317649267
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)

7

Species, race, and culture in the space of wildlife management

Anastasia Yarbrough

Introduction

Wildlife management and conservation have long been considered the domain of upper-middle-class white privilege in the United States (Harry et al. 1969; Fox 1981; Warren 1997; Taylor 1997, 2002). This chapter explores how racism and colonialism after two centuries continue to play a role in modern wildlife management in the United States. In particular, I focus on the extent to which the historical American conservation movement has used racism and colonialism as weapons to manage wild animals as resources for the primary enjoyment of upper-middle-class whites while simultaneously marginalizing people of color (e.g., African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos) and excluding these groups from full participation in wildlife management. I also examine to a brief extent how conventional wildlife management practices deny animal agency and how population management as a paradigm affects the ways in which people of color and wildlife are ‘managed’ in the United States. Finally, I consider the opportunities and pitfalls of using an environmental justice framework as an alternative to conservation for wildlife advocacy and community empowerment. In alignment with critical animal geographies, I attempt to decentralize the status quo of wildlife management and reimagine wildlife management in a way that genuinely includes wild animals and people of color as legitimate subjects in a community of biocultural diversity.

Before I proceed, I would like to clarify my use of language. Often, wildlife is used as a singular noun to summarize a large, diverse group of animals. Similar to the way that a species is referenced in the singular (i.e., the Virginia Bat), wildlife is more a generalized idea than an accurate depiction of those beings we refer to as ‘wild animals.’ However, to minimize confusion, in this chapter, I will use the term ‘wildlife’ interchangeably with ‘wild animals.’ When I say wild animals, I am signifying those nonhuman animals who currently and have for multiple generations lived autonomously from human technology. This definition, as I use it, also includes animals we label as ‘feral’ or ‘re-wilded.’ Animals who are wild tend to exhibit certain qualities such as self-reliance, self-determination, and reproductive freedom. Even these qualities are being contested as humans breed wild animals in captivity and urban, agricultural, and energy development make self-determination life-threatening for some animals. At the moment, ‘wild animals’ is the most precise phrase I know to capture this state of being. Therefore, in the likeness of Jennifer Wolch (1998), I will refer to wild animals consistently throughout this chapter to differentiate from captives such as pets, farmed animals, animals in laboratories, and animals in zoos and aquaria.

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