The future of animals in tourism recreation: Social media as spaces of collective moral reflexivity

Mkono, Muchazondida; Holder, Afiya

doi:10.1016/j.tmp.2018.10.002

Cited by 38 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Despite the growing influence of collective moral reflexivity regarding the killing of animals, some campaigns do not become prominent. For example, the killings of other well‐known individuals in captive and wild populations (e.g., Marius the giraffe [ Giraffa camelopardalis ], Harambe the gorilla [ Gorilla gorilla ], and Xanda [Cecil's cub]) were neither widely known nor led to change (Mkono & Holder 2019 ).…”

Section: Predicting the Future Of Slhmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large carnivore hunting and the social license to hunt

Darimont

Hall

Eckert

et al. 2021

Conservation Biology

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The social license to operate framework considers how society grants or withholds informal permission for resource extractors to exploit publicly owned resources. We developed a modified model, which we refer to as the social license to hunt (SLH). In it we similarly consider hunters as operators, given that wildlife are legally considered public resources in North America and Europe. We applied the SLH model to examine the controversial hunting of large carnivores, which are frequently killed for trophies. Killing for trophies is widespread, but undertaken by a minority of hunters, and can pose threats to the SLH for trophy-seeking carnivore hunters and potentially beyond. Societal opposition to large carnivore hunting relates not only to conservation concerns but also to misalignment between killing for trophies and dominant public values and attitudes concerning the treatment of animals. We summarized cases related to the killing of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos), wolves (Canis lupus), and other large carnivores in Canada, the United States, and Europe to illustrate how opposition to large carnivore hunting, now expressed primarily on social media, can exert rapid and significant pressure on policy makers and politicians. Evidence of the potential for transformative change to wildlife management and conservation includes proposed and realized changes to legislation, business practice, and wildlife policy, including the banning of some large carnivore hunts. Given that policy is ultimately shaped by societal values and attitudes, research gaps include developing increased insight into public support of various hunting policies beyond that derived from monitoring of social media and public polling. Informed by increased evidence, the SLH model can provide a conceptual foundation for predicting the likelihood of transient versus enduring changes to wildlife conservation policy and practice for a wide variety of taxa and contexts.

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Section: Predicting the Future Of Slhmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large carnivore hunting and the social license to hunt

Darimont

Hall

Eckert

et al. 2021

Conservation Biology

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“…38 Mkono and Holder conceive of social media as digital spaces of collective moral reflexivity, which signal heightened public engagement in human-animal recreational ethics. 39 Meaning and morality, in relation to tourist experience, are routinely engaged with, co-created and contested through online forums. Kawaii has thus become embroiled in online debate regarding animal welfare and ethics.…”

Section: Animal Aesthetics and Ethicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Japanese Animal Tourism and the Kawaii (Cute) Aesthetic

Crossley¹

2020

Scope (Art & Design)

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Japan is rapidly developing a global reputation as a tourism hot-spot for animal lovers. Opportunities for tourists to interact with animals can be found across a range of settings throughout the country, from the famous snow monkeys of Nagano, to free-ranging deer in Nara, to the assortment of cat, and other animal cafés in Tokyo. Many such attractions are marketed as a chance to experience animals that are described as "cute", "adorable" or "fluffy". These portrayals draw on the "kawaii" aesthetic, which is a prominent feature of Japanese popular culture. Kawaii is a culturally specific form of cuteness that often references animal characters or animal-like qualities. While sociological explorations of the cultural phenomenon abound, the implications of characterising real animals as kawaii, such as those used in the tourism industry, have received limited academic attention. However, recently the welfare of Japan's cute animals has come under scrutiny from international tourists, sparking vocal criticism on social media and even petitions calling for unethical attractions to be closed down. I explore how kawaii has shaped the terrain of contemporary Japanese animal tourism and how contestation of the aesthetic is opening up debate regarding animal welfare and ethics in Japan. KAWAII: THE CULT OF CUTE The kawaii, or "cute", aesthetic has become an integral part of Japanese popular culture. Kawaii is a ubiquitous term used to describe a range of cultural artefacts, including fictional characters such as Hello Kitty or Pikachu, animal-like regional mascots known as "yuru-kyara", bento boxes containing rice balls shaped to look like characters or animals known as "kyaraben", and, of course, cat cafés. The term is also commonly used in reference to a hyper-feminine, girlish fashion style, which often features pink babydoll dresses, knee-high socks, frills and bows reminiscent of children's clothes, and animal ear headbands. While the domestic appeal of kawaii cannot be denied, the aesthetic has also proven to be a valuable, exportable commodity as part of the national "Cool Japan" brand and ideology.1 Figures such as Hello Kitty have become internationally recognisable icons of Japanese popular culture.2 So successful has the globalisation of kawaii been that many people outside of Japan will intuitively recognise this version of cuteness, with its pastel colours, childlike innocence and anthropomorphised animals, even if they have never heard of its Japanese name. While kawaii translates as "cute" in English, the Japanese term has a broader semantic meaning. Kawaii is derived from "kawahayushi", which is used to describe someone blushing in embarrassment3 and the word also shares an etymological link with "kawaisö", meaning pitiable or pathetic. 4 Thus, while the Anglophone and Japanese terms both bring to mind smallness, youth and innocence, kawaii carries additional connotations of embarrassment, obedience, weakness and dependency. There is also a nostalgic element to kawaii, invoking memories of childhood warmt...

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“…Giving back, paying homage to the destination are novel tourism features that emerge in many ways, such as for example working in waste collection, participating in farming, donating and participating in crowdfunding programs (Galdon-Salvador, Garrigos-Simon & Gil-Fechuan, 2016; Mariani, Cataldo, & Vastola, 2014), or being ambassadors for the place at home. Social media is essential for transparency, and the design of mission-oriented approaches must work with an extended and compliant media and publicity strategy packed into a "collective morale" (Mkono & Holder, 2019).…”

Section: Mission-oriented Innovation Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Capacity-, system- and mission-oriented innovation policies in tourism – characteristics, measurement and prospects

Hjalager

Gesseneck²

2019

Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events

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Innovation policies for tourism are under-investigated and under-conceptualized. With reference to the ongoing innovation policy discussions, three distinctive public innovation policy paradigms-capacityoriented, system-oriented and mission-oriented-are outlined, and the manifestations in the case of tourism are explained. Contemporary strategies and practices for tourism development tend to comprise elements of all three paradigms. Nevertheless, nowadays there tends to be a gradual evolvement towards an ongoing refinement of the instruments towards the mission-oriented approach, which addresses both societal challenges and economic opportunities. The complexity of goals and the number of actors involved increase when taking the mission-oriented policy approach. The EC-OECD innovation policy monitoring program STIP lists many instruments, but is still insufficient for tourism. The study refers to tests of innovation policy survey topics in Overseas Counties and Territories that demonstrate the significant ambiguity of innovation policies. In all types of countries and territories there is a demand for new frameworks, however most innovation policies still seem very traditional and fail to focus on future challenges.

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The future of animals in tourism recreation: Social media as spaces of collective moral reflexivity

Cited by 38 publications

References 46 publications

Large carnivore hunting and the social license to hunt

Large carnivore hunting and the social license to hunt

Japanese Animal Tourism and the Kawaii (Cute) Aesthetic

Capacity-, system- and mission-oriented innovation policies in tourism – characteristics, measurement and prospects

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