Expanding arenas for learning hunting ethics, their grammars and dilemmas: An examination of young hunters’ enculturation into modern hunting

Abstract

Although hunting is declining in western countries, the number of people taking the hunting exam in Sweden are stable, and new demographic groups are becoming hunters. Through interviews done in Sweden with both new and experienced hunters, as well as focus groups with young hunters at agricultural colleges, we investigate how they navigate praxis and ethical frameworks taught in hunting. Using theories on moral learning, as well as Walzer's thick and thin moral argument, we contrast the views of these young hunters with the ethical principles outlined in the educational literature for the hunting exam. We then present how young hunters reasoned around issues regarding hunting ethics, animal welfare and the place of hunting in modern society, both inside and outside the classroom. The young hunters we spoke to acted as moderators of modern trends in hunting, often bringing ‘destabilising’ influences like social media and female hunters. Young hunters are enculturated into traditional hunting structures and, in the process, caught in a dialectic between modern influences and traditional hunting culture. Our findings highlight challenges such as ‘false consensus’ and ‘ethical trade‐offs’ in the learning of hunting ethics, which emerge potentially due to a lack of space for deliberation on hunting ethics.

Past echoes and modern pressures : on the changing ethics of modern hunting in Sweden

“…As mentioned, standardization is occurring by training hunters and ensuring their basic knowledge of animals, the importance of training, knowledge, and experience to become a good hunter. Research shows that animal welfare is often a considerably high priority in hunting laws and amongst hunters (along with safety) and forms the basis for some concerns regarding the development of ethics Tickle et al 2022).…”

“…Therefore, older ideals of leaving society behind to commune with nature such as suggested by more romantic hunting writers such as Ortega y Gasset, is no longer as easy. Hunters are more scrutinized than before with the help of technology, and individual hunters carry significant responsibility (Tickle et al 2022) and face external and internal criticism (von Essen & Hansen 2018). Certainly, as paper IV argues, the existential threat would pressure hunters to be more critical of one another, or reflexively double down in support.…”

“…This thesis sets itself apart as it has focused on otherwise underrepresented groups both in hunting and qualitative research, such as female hunters (Smith et al 2022) and young hunters (Tickle et al 2022), stepping away from the archetypical experienced of senior hunters who tend to be the subject of other qualitative research. This allows for a more comprehensive picture of developing demographics in hunting.…”