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SC/69B/O/04
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Resource ID
22134
Access
Open
Document Number
SC/69B/O/04
Full Title
Wild animal populations are not ?stocks?: Does language bias hamper conservation efforts by the International Whaling Commission?
Author
F. Ritter, M. Simmonds, G. Bearzi, S. Dolman, F. Cipriano, M. Iniguez and M. Stachowitsch
Authors Summary
It was suggested that the IWC should adopt language that reflects current scientific understanding and emphasises and promotes the interconnection between humans and other species. The WHO/FAO/OIE/UNEP One Health approach, ?an integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimise the health of people, nonhuman animals and ecosystems?, may provide an appropriate context on which language change can be grounded.
Publisher
IWC
Publication Year
2024
Abstract
The terminology used to govern our relations with wildlife and nature is often imprecise, euphemistic or tailored to human uses. Such terminology is frequently reflected in the policy statements, statutes and texts of management bodies. Many of the formalised viewpoints and programmatic missions were drafted decades ago. In the meantime, however, our knowledge about animal behaviour and cognition as well as ecosystems and how they function has made major leaps forward. Our perception of animal rights has also shifted considerably. Here, we propose to reconsider and modernise some of the most obsolete terminology. We choose the International Whaling Commission (IWC) as a case study for both entrenched concepts and positive trends. We examine terms such as ?stock?, ?take?, ?harvest?, ?bycatch?, and ?removal?, and propose some alternatives. An effort to conform language to modern understanding and sensibilities might encourage other conventions, agencies and organisations to consider language bias that influences our connection to, understanding and protection of, the living world.