An eco-feminist perspective on the co-existence of different views of seals in leisure activities

Abstract

This study adopts an eco-feminist perspective and investigates leisure activities involving seals occurring in the area of Tromsø, an Arctic town in Norway. The aim is to contribute to the discussion of the existence of various conceptualisations of wild animals, with particular attention to their implications in terms of animal welfare and wellbeing, and the promotion of specific ways we as humans view wild animals and ourselves. The data was collected through promotional material, local media and history literature consultation, and participant observation. The results suggest four co-existing conceptualisations of seals: as part of the local cultural heritage, as prey and pest, as friends and pets, and as entertainers. These conceptualisations are discussed in relation to the components of the leisure experience (entertainment, education, self-identity construction), animal welfare and wellbeing, and the ethical implications of the way the local people perceive the seals and view themselves as humans.

Sustainability in wildlife tourism: challenging the assumptions and imagining alternatives

“…Recently, some tourism scholars have discussed the use of animals in tourism from an ethical perspective, and some have explicitly adopted and discussed the Ecofeminism approach (Bertella, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018; Burns, 2015, 2017; Burns et al , 2011; Cohen, 2009; Fennell, 2012a, 2012b, 2012c, 2013a, 2013b; 2014; Markwell, 2015; Shani and Pizam, 2008; Yudina and Fennell, 2013; Yudina and Grimwood, 2015). With regard to wildlife tourism, Yudina and Grimwood (2015, p. 731) investigate polar bear watching.…”

Instagranimal: Animal Welfare and Animal Ethics Challenges of Animal-Based Tourism

“…The form of labor that they provide varies. In the above sections, animals featured in various roles, including: A kind of spiritual commodity [ 73 ], including serving as totem animals; A mode of transportation, such as donkey treks or dog-sledding in the Arctic; A laborer in the background to a more center-stage tourism activity [ 32 ], such as how research has found that having wolves in an area where hunting tourists hunt herbivores adds to the overall experience [ 45 ], or goats in the background to a farmers’ market; A culinary delight [ 30 ], such as alligator meat in Louisiana [ 5 ]; A front-stage performer, such as animals doing tricks in circuses [ 27 ]; A marker of place, such as the kangaroo or koala for Australia [ 11 ]; A “facilitator” of leisure [ 13 ], such as an animal trained to serve drinks; The face of a souvenir or toy [ 5 , 43 ]; The ultimate sacrifice as a game animal to be hunted as part of the Big Five. …”

“…Given this, one might ask whether travel may increase, but travel-associated accumulation (such as physical souvenirs) may decrease. As tourism becomes a ritual context for showing identity-based goods, moreover, animal tourism experiences may be valuable to establishing a person’s status [ 43 , 44 ]. Within this, last-chance tourism, danger tourism and slum tourism in relation to interacting with animals may feasibly be on the rise among some tourists [ 3 , 45 , 46 ].…”

“…Oppositely, contexts involving care and nursing relations with animals on holiday, including bottle-feeding baby animals or volunteering at shelters, may be both a female domain and a context in which alternative notions of masculinity can be played out. Bertella [ 43 ] suggests that direct experience of wild animals may contribute to emotional and cognitive capacities that support caring attitudes, but there is a possibility these engagements may also be pastiches—exaggerated or contrived.…”

Feminist Knowledges as Interventions in Physical Cultures

“…In addition, there is a growing body of (eco)feminist post-humanist work that has begun to explore more-than-human leisure relations with nature, 'the environment'and non human animals (Bertella 2018;Finkel & Danby 2018;Dashper, 2016). This work questions the assumed mastery of nature and hierarchical separation of human bodies from the fleshy and non-organic composition of our shared life worlds.…”