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Aliens are animals too! ethics and stigmatization within invasive species rhetoric

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Date Issued:
2013
Summary:
Management of nonnative invasive species (NIS) frequently involves removing animals or plants from an area in order to conserve native communities. Methods of removing invasive animals include killing individuals, justified as a means of protecting broader ecological values. This management approach, however, is often controversial and highlights differences between discourses of environmental and animal rights. The former values life at a holistic level while the latter emphasizes the value of individual lives. Language both reflects and shapes belief and action, and to assess these divergent views, I compare invasive species rhetoric of a prominent environmental organization with that of an influential animal welfare group. The goal is to identify the most prevalent themes in the different organizations’ characterizations, highlighting areas of convergence and divergence regarding such themes, and, ultimately, to find out if their rhetoric points to any viable suggestions for compromise.
Title: Aliens are animals too! ethics and stigmatization within invasive species rhetoric.
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Name(s): Brockway, Gina A.
O’Brien, William
White, Daniel
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Thesis
Date Created: Spring 2013
Date Issued: 2013
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 91 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Management of nonnative invasive species (NIS) frequently involves removing animals or plants from an area in order to conserve native communities. Methods of removing invasive animals include killing individuals, justified as a means of protecting broader ecological values. This management approach, however, is often controversial and highlights differences between discourses of environmental and animal rights. The former values life at a holistic level while the latter emphasizes the value of individual lives. Language both reflects and shapes belief and action, and to assess these divergent views, I compare invasive species rhetoric of a prominent environmental organization with that of an influential animal welfare group. The goal is to identify the most prevalent themes in the different organizations’ characterizations, highlighting areas of convergence and divergence regarding such themes, and, ultimately, to find out if their rhetoric points to any viable suggestions for compromise.
Identifier: FA00003507 (IID)
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, 2013.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003507
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.

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