Strong community support for illegal killing challenges wolf management

The Implications of Victimhood Identity: The Case of ‘Persecution’ of Swedish Hunters

“…Although the broader public and the state-indeed, even the hunting associations in Sweden in their official stancedo not condone illegal hunting, anti-wolf sentiment has festered in many rural communities which feel betrayed by the government because of its prioritization of wildlife conservation goals above rural development. They help reproduce a popular climate of state distrust and wolf hatred, one that is enclaved from the outside and often protective of the identities of illegal hunters (Peltola, Ratamäki and Pellikka 2013;Pohja-Mykrä and Kurki 2014).…”

Interspecies Violence and Crimes of Dissent: Communication Ethics and Legitimacy in Message Crimes Involving Wildlife

“…Typically, hunters charge certain wolves and not others with having breached the tacit terms of interspecies coexistence, whether by moving surreptiously closer to human settlements, displaying 'unnatural' behavior, becoming increasingly tame before humans (thereby violating a wildness boundary), systematically predating on livestock or domestic animals, or hybridizing with dogs (see, for example, Pohja-Mykrä and Kurki 2014;Hermans 2015;Theodorakea and von Essen 2016). Hence, it is viewed as more justified to kill these particular animals, who are implicitly framed as moral agents capable or cognizant of violating social contracts or codes.…”

Criminalising the right to hunt: European law perspectives on anti-hunting legislation

“…Hunters are nevertheless not legally recognized as a distinct protected group even where they are granted considerable recognition within legislative and policy discourse related to their interests. Widespread opposition to anti-hunting legislation across Europe suggests a shared resistance to legislation and public policy detrimental to their 'sport' among hunters and those engaged in animal harm linked to traditional fieldsports and activities such as illegal predator control linked to hunting interests [1,2]. Environmental politics discourse suggests that laws gain legitimacy through public acceptance and engagement with the views of those negatively impacted upon by prohibitive legislation, sometimes necessitating increased public discourse [3,4].…”

“…This being the case, continued resistance to lawful hunting restrictions through illegal hunting can be considered as mainstream criminality subject to criminal justice attention rather than as legitimate resistance. 1 In accordance with green criminological perspectives of species justice [9,10] those engaged in illegal hunting, even with the tacit support of their communities can arguably be treated as members of a deviant subculture. Cooper [11] for example, notes that 'those who hunt with dogs are properly referred to as 'offenders' and also refers to 'the institutionalized ethos of violence that hunting can represent, and its possible contribution to a wider abusive culture'.…”