- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Foreword
- Preface Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
- Acknowledgments
- Part One Ethics, Conservation, and Animal Protection
- 1 The Infirm Ethical Foundations of Conservation
- 2 Venturing beyond the Tyranny of Small Differences
- 3 Ecocide and the Extinction of Animal Minds
- 4 Talking about Bushmeat
- 5 Conservation, Animal Rights, and Human Welfare
- Part Two Conservation Behavior and “Enlightened Management”
- 6 Why We <i>Really</i> Don't Care about the Evidence in Evidence-Based Decision Making in Conservation (and How to Change This)
- 7 Cautionary Wildlife Tales
- 8 Coyotes, Compassionate Conservation, and Coexistence
- 9 Why Evolutionary Biology Is Important for Conservation
- 10 Reintroductions to “Ratchet Up” Public Perceptions of Biodiversity
- 11 Przewalski's Horses and Red Wolves
- 12 Why Individuals Matter
- Part Three Conservation Economics and Politics
- 13 The Imperative of Steady State Economics for Wild Animal Welfare
- 14 Conservation, Biodiversity, and Tourism in New Zealand
- Part Four Human Dimensions of Social Justice, Empathy, and Compassion for Animals and other Nature
- 15 Anthropological Perspectives on Ignoring Nature
- 16 Nature and Animals in Human Social Interactions
- 17 Conservation Social Work
- 18 The War on Nature—Turning the Tide?
- 19 Consuming Nature
- 20 Children, Animals, and Social Neuroscience
- Part Five Culture, Religion, and Spirituality
- 21 Compassionate Conservation
- 22 Explaining China's Wildlife Crisis
- 23 A Triangular Playing Field
- 24 Conservation and Its Challenges in Kenya
- 25 Is Green Religion an Oxymoron?
- 26 Avatar
- Some Closing Words
- About the Contributors
- Contributors' Contact Information
- Index
Talking about Bushmeat
Talking about Bushmeat
- Chapter:
- (p.63) 4 Talking about Bushmeat
- Source:
- Ignoring Nature No More
- Author(s):
Dale Peterson
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
Bushmeat commerce currently removes as much as five million metric tons of wild animal biomass per year from the Congo Basin ecosystem—an amount that is completely unsustainable. It also threatens the well-being and very existence of the three African great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos). This chapter argues for a “cultural conversation” about the problem and nature of bushmeat. It presents two ways of talking about bushmeat: by invoking human self-interest (such as protection from some serious public health threats) and by invoking human other-interest. The other-interest argument for protecting some species such as the great apes would identify a moral hierarchy based on either an evolutionary closeness to humans or a reasoned calculation of the animal's psychological presence, or both.
Keywords: bushmeat industry, animal protection, animal conservation, wild animals, African great apes, self-interest, other-interest argument, conservation
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- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Foreword
- Preface Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
- Acknowledgments
- Part One Ethics, Conservation, and Animal Protection
- 1 The Infirm Ethical Foundations of Conservation
- 2 Venturing beyond the Tyranny of Small Differences
- 3 Ecocide and the Extinction of Animal Minds
- 4 Talking about Bushmeat
- 5 Conservation, Animal Rights, and Human Welfare
- Part Two Conservation Behavior and “Enlightened Management”
- 6 Why We <i>Really</i> Don't Care about the Evidence in Evidence-Based Decision Making in Conservation (and How to Change This)
- 7 Cautionary Wildlife Tales
- 8 Coyotes, Compassionate Conservation, and Coexistence
- 9 Why Evolutionary Biology Is Important for Conservation
- 10 Reintroductions to “Ratchet Up” Public Perceptions of Biodiversity
- 11 Przewalski's Horses and Red Wolves
- 12 Why Individuals Matter
- Part Three Conservation Economics and Politics
- 13 The Imperative of Steady State Economics for Wild Animal Welfare
- 14 Conservation, Biodiversity, and Tourism in New Zealand
- Part Four Human Dimensions of Social Justice, Empathy, and Compassion for Animals and other Nature
- 15 Anthropological Perspectives on Ignoring Nature
- 16 Nature and Animals in Human Social Interactions
- 17 Conservation Social Work
- 18 The War on Nature—Turning the Tide?
- 19 Consuming Nature
- 20 Children, Animals, and Social Neuroscience
- Part Five Culture, Religion, and Spirituality
- 21 Compassionate Conservation
- 22 Explaining China's Wildlife Crisis
- 23 A Triangular Playing Field
- 24 Conservation and Its Challenges in Kenya
- 25 Is Green Religion an Oxymoron?
- 26 Avatar
- Some Closing Words
- About the Contributors
- Contributors' Contact Information
- Index
