Killing Animals

223 Pages·2006·89.41 MB·English

by  Jonathan Burt, Diana Donald, Erica Fudge

Killing
Animals

THE ANIMAL STUDIES GROUP

Univer
© a by the ard of Ts
he Ueto Minis

‘Alghero

Manoure the Ued Se fAmerc

{hey of Cangren atop n Puiton Dat

Frc grap erence a ide

esa sia hal paper)

ino iy (cha ape!

‘bear sera pba paper)
‘seers (pak paper

"Aina were Hunting Sgn td ag es.
{tha nil eosin Stabe
bydes sammy

custtotiek
ilunabon
Contents

Price vi
Introduction 1

‘Wild Killing: Contesting the Animal in Hunting 10

‘What Is Doing the Killing? Animal Attacks, Man-Eaters

‘Shifting Houndaries and Flows of Human-Animal Relations. 30
‘chris Witert

Pangs Watched in Pespetuity: Sir Edwin Landee's Pictures of

Dying Deer andthe Ethos of Victorian Sportsmanship 50
Diane Donald

“You Kill Things to Look at Them”: Animal Death in

Gonemporary Att 69
Stee Baker

“Two Ethics: Killing Animals inthe Past and the Present 9
Tic ae
Conflicts around Slaughter in Modernity 120
ona art
1s Hysteria, and the Representation of Animal Death
Deborah Levys Diary ofa Steak 145
Robert Mekay
4 Killing Animals in Animal Shelters 70
(Clare alner

Conclusion: A Conversation 88

Indes 201
Preface

“The Animal Studies Group brings together eight British academics: Steve
Baker, Jonathan Burt, Diana Donald, Erica Fudge, Garry Marvin, Robert,
“Mek, late Palmer, nd Chris Wilbert. They approach the field of animal
studies from backgrounds in diferent humanities disciplines, notably con
temporary visual culture, at hstry.caly modern and modern cultural and
itllectual history anthropology, comtemporary literary studies, philosophy,
and human geography. All members ofthe group have published work in
"heir own specialist areas and have worked to encourage interes in human=
animal rations within their own fel of expertise. The aim ofthe Grow

{sa whole is ogo beyond the singe discipline tha often confines an ind
‘dual ato use the know deo each member to farther staies of animals
Within the humanities through creative interplay of ideas, discussion, and

‘atc,

Killing Animale i the Group's est collective work. Each member has
writen an esa, taking the theme ofthe book as hs or her starting point.
‘What fas emerged is eight very diferent, challenging essays. We have not
attempted to adopt a house style—diferent disciplines, we have come to
tealz,ruire different modes of representation, diferent languages, and
tfferent assumptions about both the focus andthe function ofthe essay as
‘form,

‘We have learned much from each other ding the proces of writing this
book, not only about current debates and ideas in each ofthe disciplines but
also about what cach of scan offer toa wider debate, We hope that we have
then able o communicate these insights tothe reader and thatthe book wil
stimulate other studs ofa similar kind. The centrality of annals in cul-
vii Preface

‘ual history and in contemporary consciousness demands sch breadth in
the frame of reference within which they are studi.

The development of Killing Animals was very different fom most esay
collections, Whereas many such works originate asa seties of separately
Planned caference papers dawn together by an elitor, Killing Animas &
‘book that has been throughout a cllabortive venture Ths both the in
twoduction and the conclusion are based on exchanges and debates among
the Group asa whole.

‘We have not atemptedto come to any single ethical understanding of our
subjct—this would be imposible, since there are many differences of view
among us. The Group is nota campaigning organization buts group that
promotes the academic study ofthe place of animals in human history 3s
an autonomous and substantive fl,

“The Groupsthanks go in particular to Liz Dulany at the Unversity of linois
Press for her support and to Stephanie Schwandne-Sievers for he hospital.
ityand patience.
Killing Animals
Introduction

To give just the bares outline ofthe extraordinary sae of animal killing
‘conducted by human beings in recent years, we ae going to presenta wide
Set of figures taken, to some extent at random, fom various sources. Most
‘of these and many more setso statistics, aren locatable on the Inter
in government an international eports, and in many of the books refered
to nthe chapters of this ook.

First, we can look t the sais related to farm animals. Of
“destroyed to climinate infections that might spread to other animals ot
humans. Between Aprii996 and October 200, 5196247 animals wer killed
unde the Over Thirty Month Scheme as part ofthe effort to conte the
lisease BSE (hovine spongiform encephalopathy) inthe United Kingdom.
“According othe Departmen of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Dis-
‘ease Control Stem Database, 423.786 animals wee killed s part ofthe
‘flor to contol foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom in 2000!
In Hong Kongin December 1997.14 milion ges, ducks, and chickens were
Kile o preven “itd rom spreading to humans. The routine slag
terof animals for food involves even vastr numbers. Each yer in the Unit
fd Sats 45 million turkeys ate ill for Thanksgiving Six bilion boiler
‘hickens are raised in sheds A hog sicker in a highly industrialized factory
inthe United States could cat s many as 0 throats per hou At the time
ofthe BSE outbreak thre-quarters of all American cattle wee fed animal
protein, consuming sbout 2 billion pounds a year, mostly the remains of
‘ther cattle 998 the total umber of animals slaughtered for food in
the United Kingdom was 883.319,00, which works outa twenty-<ight ai:
‘mals slaughtered every second In 3002, the nusber of poultry slaughtered
2 Introduction

inthe United Kingdom was 30.8.0, an the figure sep and
vas 9.094000" Austra il quota for kangarons in 2001 Was 35
Ton.

sides the consumption of animals for fod, there are aso vas figures
forather kindof consumption, sich as clothing and display. Every year it
ivestimate that more than ablion annals are slaughtered for eather
worldwide Buenos Aires recorded exports between 1977 and 1979 of
2384209 animal skis, from puss to ards In 99 it wa eported hat
Some so French eat were caught analy reir skins Between 980
andthe United Stats morte between 2 and milion reptile kins
{nd 25 milion ive ornamental fish? Huntingand science alo se up eno
‘mous numbers of animals Inthe United Sates in 200 some 3 milion
People took part in hunting activities, The Binh Home Oc stasis on
Sima experimentation for aot a gure of 2.65876 anima sed

The knoelcom fects ofthe ornamental ah trade and the aking of ah
forconsumption staggering Stock flag predatory fh thoughout the
work’ oceans have dropped by 90 percent in so years” The numbers of
Common shark species have dropped by 75 pent in ite yeas. Many
Sctvies arcextremely waste of animale ofen entailing he destruction
‘species oe than thse intend ob caught. Everyday ome 700 ships
borkdvide set more than 20000 mies of dit net inthe pen ss, entang-
Jing, apart from the catch, an estimate 38,00 sel, whales and porpoises
nd, presmably, countless numbers of seabird! Up to 50 perent ofa
tralerscatch isunslable and ithrown bck into thes. tks fou ons
industrial trad oper one tom of ples to provide eed foe
farmed salon" For every lilo of prawns caught another ten to twenty
kilos miscellaneous marine lif ilo caught. The United Kingdom pro-
‘duce milion farmed se tout per anu fr consumption.” The Unit-
ed Nations blicves that over 20 milion fish and half a many ter forms
‘of marinelfae abo caught every yao the aquarium trad, which use
immense damage othe remaining fauna and flora

These level kiling are without precedent tin the nineteenth cen
tury for example batts (lnge-scae shoots) of game binds and ther an
mals produced hige kill On October 2707, furtsn guns on the Duke
‘of Norfolk's Hola estat sho 1 partridge, 6 pheasants, 266 ares 17
rabbits 8 woodcock,and sot anspeiied bird atotl of 31 annals One
‘ofthe kings of Naples and his suite, during these perio, in a journey
from aly Venn, killed bears woe, badger 34 foxes ab
its as rodbucks, ao boas 60 der, 2335partridges 5950 pheasans,
Introduction 3

sa hares" The growth of mpireand of commerceand luxury trades
had a big influence on anima destruction to, Between 870 and 1920, near
Jy 20,00 tons of orvamental feathers entered the United Kingdon. This was
2 figure es thar haf that fr France, which imported 30,000 tons between
"890 an 930. Both estimates represent score of millions of birds kl all,
round the work." There ate many other examples ofthe widespread dev
{sation brought about by cllecting or hunting for ior, skins and other
forms of trophy.

‘When one begins to draw up a ist (the above statistics are only small
part fa far greater picture), itis easy ose how the ling of animal takes
place and has taken place on such scale that salmst beyond comprehen
‘on, It isnot just he statisis that are staggering but the fact that almost all
‘rcs of human life area some point or ther involved in or dtety depen
‘dent om the killing of animals. These reas cover evrything from science—
‘understood inthe broadest possible sense o include everything from indus-
tty to medicine and other forms of rexearch—and food production to
clothing, recreation (field sports and hunting), cosmetics, ferizers pet
Toons, jewelry and numerous types of utensil, ornament, and decor
Thislist cull be further extended to include other types of human impact.
‘on the natural work frm the large-scale suchas the side eet of pol
tion, urban and industrial development, and the destruction of habitat,
‘move small-scale ses sch as the slaughter of ied by eats that ae kept as
domestic pets This killing is ubiquitous and omnipresent a holocaust of
jmmense proportions. Indeed, the extent and the variety of the Kiln is
reflected inthe numberof terms we use to describe these different types of
death, Animals become extinct. They are also killed, gassed, cectocuted,
«exterminated, hunted, butchered vivsectd, shot trapped snared, run over,
lethally injected, culled, sacrificed, slaughtered executed, euthanized de
Stroy put dvs, put to lep, and even, perhaps murdered

Despite this the purposeful killing of animals at least in most indstia-
ized nations largely invisible in the public domain It generally takes place
inslaughterhouses factories, ct kil shelters, aboratories well away from
the public eye, Furthermore, the scale of animal death caused by enviton-
‘mental damage rarely impinges on the public consciousness except in those
Fare instances ofan eye-catching disaster suchas the sinking ofan ol ank-
‘rorthe accent spillage of toxic industrial fluent into aloe river"
fact when representations of animal death do erupt into the public domain,
(as when they appear, sy in a lm or other media), they ar often accom
panied by shocked outery— ironically inthe name of animal welfare." All