Introduction to Special Issue of CRIMEANTHROP: Criminal Justice, Wildlife Conservation and Animal Rights in the Anthropocene

Introduction to Special Issue of CRIMEANTHROP: CriminaL Justice, Wildlife Conservation and Animal Rights in the Anthropocen

Eating E.T.: Carnism and Speciesism

This article takes as its point of departure an event in which a plant-based version of the space alien, the Extra-Terrestrial (‘E.T.’), from the science fiction film bearing its name, was barbecued and served as a meal to participants at a conference. The soy dish produced different reactions: some laughed, while others seemed appalled. These different sentiments provide the basis for a broad green cultural criminology analysis of the traditions of meat-eating, tracing its role in human history and in the barbecue. The purpose of this is to explore why humans treat different categories of animals so differently. To understand the reactions the meal produced, the article addresses two contrasting aspects of the human–non-human animal relationship—‘carnism’ and ‘pet-keeping’—and contemplates these in relation to the reactions to eating E.T. The goal is to expand on the study of the human–animal relationship, particularly speciesism—understood as ideology and practice that legitimise and produce animal abuse through the analytical concept categorical discriminatory speciesism

Review of the Routledge International Handbook of Rural Criminology, Joseph F. Donnermeyer (Editor)

No abstract available

The Development of Enforcement of CITES in Norway: Discretionary Omissions and Theoricides

The world is losing species at an alarming rate; the population sizes of wild mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have dropped 68% since 1970. Much of this loss is caused by trade. This article discusses the development in the enforcement of CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species) in Norway through a longitudinal, qualitative approach. It is based on data collection done in several stages and traces how crimes of wildlife trade are addressed by law enforcement agencies. It finds that there is lax enforcement of CITES crimes in Norway, which connect to what can be called anthropocentric, discretionary harms of omission in law enforcement. Taking a species justice approach and based on a discussion of possible changes and development in enforcement in Norway, this article argues that this crime is still insufficiently prioritized by enforcement agencies. Weak points identified at the early stages of this research, such as deficient recording of CITES crimes and discretionary lack of priority of investigation, were still existent. The most serious weakness is the policy of euthanizing confiscated animals, which is a considerable breach of species justice

Obstacles and possibilities in police research

Drawing on a Norwegian research project investigating the possible existence of police racism, this article explores challenges related to conducting research in such sensitive sites as the police with reference to methodological and institutional obstacles. The project featured participant observation, in-depth interviews with ethnic minority men, and in-depth interviews with police officers and lays the basis for a discussion of the diverging perspectives on police racism held by the police and by members of ethnic minorities. The degree to which research on the police can reveal the  ‘truth’ of policing and thereby contribute to changing police practice is problematised and questions are asked about the extent to which research can contribute to facilitating change within the police that might be of benefit to the relationship between the police and ethnic minorities. A key question raised is whether the existence of a specific police culture, featuring loyalty, a hierarchical organisational structure and the use of discretion may prevent such research methods from revealing ‘true’ data, as well as organisational change. A discussion of problem-oriented policing illustrates some  of the obstacles to implementing changes. The article concludes that the police in Oslo do not demonstrate evidence of institutional racism though there is evidence of derogatory language use and stereotyping where ethnic minorities are stereotyped in homologous ways to other marginalised groups who come into contact with the police such as drug users

Spesiesisme - fenomenets grunnlag og konsekvenser

See abstract in article

Menneskers paradoksale forhold til dyr

Menneskers praksis med å ha såkalte kjæledyr går mange tusen år tilbake i tid og er vanlig blant alle folk. En slik praksis, hvor mennesker temmer andre (ikke-menneskelige) dyr og har dem som venner, understreker nærheten og slektskapet mellom artene. I vår tid bygges nærheten mellom mennesker og dyr stadig ned, og karakteren av det forholdet mennesker har til dyr defineres av hvilken sfære de befinner seg i. Som ââ¬Âproduksjonsdyrââ¬Â for kjøtt og pels, som ââ¬Âforsøksdyrââ¬Â i medisinske og psykologiske eksperimenter og til produkttesting, til underholdning, f.eks. i sirkus og som byttedyr i jakt, er dyrene objekter for menneskers behov og ønsker. I denne artikkelen diskuterer jeg praksisen med å holde kjæledyr ut fra egne erfaringer og ser disse i lys av litteratur som teoretisk og empirisk belyser forholdet mennesker har til dyr generelt, men forholdet til kjæledyr spesielt. Et spørsmål er om praksis med å holde kjæledyr først og fremst dekker et menneskelig behov som bygger på spesiesisme og som legitimerer at mennesker har dyr som eiendom og med det en tingliggjøring av dem og mulig mishandling. På en annen side kan mennesker gjennom å holde kjæledyr lære seg å se andres behov og føle kjærlighet og respekt for dyr, og kjæledyr kan bidra til en øket livskvalitet for mennesker

Introduksjon til temanummer om miljø og klima

Med dette nummeret av Sosiologi i dag har vi ønsket å fokusere på miljø­sosiologiske analyser av dagens samfunn. Miljøproblemer har fått en stadig større plass innenfor samfunnsfaglige disipliner etter som konsekvensene av skade på miljø, og dermed også for mennesker og andre arter er blitt tydelige. Fagfeltene har fått egne betegnelser som green economics og green criminology, og i Norge og Sverige Miljøsosiologi. Miljøproblemer kan knyttes til menneske­samfunnets utforming og organisering, til hvordan enkeltindivider tenker og handler og konsumentpraksiser tilknyttet bl.a. normer og ideologier. Miljøsosiologien omfatter derfor en rekke ulike tema og analytiske nivåer. Et fellestrekk er likevel at analysene som hovedregel direkte eller indirekte belyser relasjonen mellom mennesker og ânaturenâ. Hvordan denne relasjonen kan og bør forstås er fremdeles omdiskutert innenfor fagfeltet. I den sammenheng er den pågående debatten om begrepet antropocen relevant. Det viser til at den menneskelige påvirkningen på jordkloden er så omfattende at vi kan omtale dette som menneskehetens tidsalder

Contesting and Contextualising CITES: Wildlife Trafficking in Colombia and Brazil

This article raises the question of whether recently implemented legislation in Colombia and Brazil (1) provides the necessary tools to prevent the harms of wildlife trafficking (WLT) and (2) influences humans’ practices concerning the use of nonhuman animals. These questions are investigated from the dual perspectives of green criminology and public policy. The analysis is based on a qualitative empirical study undertaken in Colombia and Brazil whereby we discuss the function of the legislation in Colombia and Brazil in preventing illegal WLT. We consider the legitimacy of different practices of WLT and evaluate them with respect to species justice and environmental justice

El acuerdo entre Noruega y Colombia para proteger los bosques tropicales y reducir el calentamiento global: ¿éxito o fracaso?

The Norwegian government has made an agreement with Juan Manuel Santos, the former Colombian president, to give Colombia USD $48 million yearly in order to reduce deforestation. This forms part of a greater support effort by Norway to countries in the South to halt climate change, through the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) instituted after the Paris Agreement in 2015. The way in which efforts to reduce deforestation have been implemented has, however, been met with criticism. For instance, Colombia ratified the Paris Agreement to reach zero net deforestation by -2020. Nonetheless, in 2016, deforestation in the Amazon rainforest increased by 44$48 millones anuales para reducir la deforestación. Este acuerdo forma parte de un esfuerzo mayor de Noruega para apoyar a los países del sur que busca detener el cambio climático, a través de la Iniciativa Internacional de Clima y Bosques de Noruega (NICFI, por sus siglas en inglés: Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative) instituida después del Acuerdo de París en 2015. La manera en que se han implementado los esfuerzos para reducir la deforestación ha sido recibida con críticas. Por ejemplo, Colombia ratificó el Acuerdo de París para llegar a deforestación neta cero en 2020. No obstante, en 2016 la deforestación en la selva amazónica aumentó en un 44%. Mientras Noruega, a través de esta inversión en el bosque, parece ser un país preocupado por el clima, también continúa realizando extracción de petróleo. Noruega, por lo tanto, exhibe estándares dobles ya que apunta a mantener su posición como un importante productor de extracción de petróleo y gas en alta mar, al tiempo que impulsa el problema del cambio climático a los países del sur. De esta manera, Noruega parece cumplir con los requisitos del Acuerdo de París para la reducción de las emisiones de CO2. Este artículo examina los éxitos y fracasos de los esfuerzos noruegos de protección de los bosques tropicales en el caso de Colombia, evaluando la gobernanza de las políticas de deforestación desde la perspectiva de la criminología verde del sur, e incorporando una crítica a los medios neocolonialistas de protección ambiental establecidos por el norte