Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
The sentience of animals is shared by the representation of the fox as a sporting foe,
which attributes feelings and emotions to the fox, and by some of those who
represent the fox as a pest and defend hunting as the least cruel form of control. But
it is not universally acknowledged. A poll of prospective parliamentary candidates
conducted by MORI for the International Fund for Animal Welfare in December
1996 found that while 98 per cent of successful Labour candidates and 92 per cent
of successful Liberal Democrat candidates believed that 'animals have feelings, they
are sentient beings that can suffer pain, fear and deprivation from behavioural
needs', only 60 per cent of successful Conservative candidates concurred. While
only 7 per cent of Conservatives believed that animals were not sentient beings, the
balance apparently subscribed to a half-way position, acknowledging some
perception of sense, but limited in the scope of those sensations.
As with the other representations, the representation of the fox as victim is
mobilised through the translation of the fox into a variety of mobile forms.
Scientific representations are again important in lending authority to the
representation in a political context, but in the absence of detailed scientific studies
of the effect of hunting on foxes, this is conveyed through the form of vets' reports
of post-mortems conducted on foxes killed by hunts. Michael Foster quoted from
three reports in the parliamentary debate, each involving a translation of the fox
corpse into an assemblage of biological and medical terms which enabled statements
to be made about the manner of death.
However, to appeal to public opinion a clearer, more emotive, form of
representation was required. This was provided by the use of photography,
involving a fairly straightforward translation of the fox into a photographic image
and the mobilisation of that image through its reproduction in press reports, posters,
leaflets and, most notably, newspaper advertisements. A series of advertisements
were placed in the national press in the lead-up to the parliamentary debate by the
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), both using photographs supplied by
the LACS. These advertisements clearly represented the fox as a victim, combining
photographs of the corpses of foxes killed by hunts with headlines such as 'How
much longer can foxes tolerate this kind of pain?' and 'Whatever you think about
foxes, you have to admire their guts.'
Significantly, although the bill covered a range of wild mammals, nearly all of the
advertisements carried photographs of foxes. Mink and hares were not portrayed,
although one RSPCA advertisement did focus on deer-hunting. Under the headline,
'It's hard to swim when you've been running for three hours,' a photograph shows a
stag swimming across a river, pursued by sixteen hounds (see
Figure 9.1
). The text of
the advert supports the representation, mobilising scientific accounts of the suffering
endured by a stag during the chase, but it is the photograph which is the most
compelling representation. The deer is in the foreground, its head barely above water,
its dilated eye staring out at the observer. One dog is nearly upon it from behind,
others appear to be flanking it from the front—the stag is clearly cornered. The
story of the photograph reveals something of the process of translation. It is a clip
