It Isn’t Easy Being Green: The Triumphs and Trials of the Green Criminology-Law Nexus

AbstractHarms against nonhuman animals have become a significant concern in different disciplines (e.g., green criminology). This paper presents a multi-disciplinary discussion of one form of animal harm—wildlife harm—created by state agencies charged with protecting animals. Specifically, this issue is examined by reviewing the complex problems faced by theUSFish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which is charged with competing objectives: between protecting economic and public health interests, and protecting wildlife. In managing the human–wildlife conflicts brought to its attention, theUSFWSmust often make tradeoffs between protecting economic and public health interests, and protecting wildlife. As the data reviewed here indicate, this leads theUSFWSto kill a large number of animals each year to protect economic and public health interests—more than 40 million animals since 1996. The political and economic factors that influence these killings, and how the state balances conflicting interests, are also examined.

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Book Review: Green Criminology

Environmental Law Review ◽

10.1350/enlr.2008.10.1.008 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 86-87

Author(s):

Liz Campbell

Keyword(s):

Green Criminology

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Understanding Wildlife Crime from Eco-Existential and African Perspectives: A Psycho-Philosophical Investigation

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182111675 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (21) ◽

pp. 11675

Author(s):

Claude-Hélène Mayer

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Deep Understanding ◽

Green Criminology ◽

Wildlife Crime ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Past ◽

Global Environmental ◽

Global Environmental Changes ◽

Existential Givens

Wildlife crime has huge consequences regarding global environmental changes to animals, plants and the entire ecosystem. Combatting wildlife crime effectively requires a deep understanding of human–wildlife interactions and an analysis of the influencing factors. Conservation and green criminology are important in reducing wildlife crime, protecting wildlife and the ecosystem and informing policy-makers about best practices and strategies. However, the past years have shown that wildlife crime is not easy to combat and it is argued in this article that there are underlying existential “givens” and culture-specific aspects that need to be investigated to understand why wildlife crime is still on the rise. This theoretical article explores (eco-)existential perspectives, Greening’s four givens and selected African philosophical concepts, aiming to understand the complexities behind the prevalence of wildlife crime within global and African contexts.

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Contesting and Contextualising CITES: Wildlife Trafficking in Colombia and Brazil

International Journal for Crime Justice and Social Democracy ◽

10.5204/ijcjsd.v5i4.331 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 87-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

David Rodríguez Goyes ◽

Ragnhild Sollund

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Empirical Study ◽

Environmental Justice ◽

Green Criminology ◽

Nonhuman Animals ◽

Wildlife Trafficking

This article raises the question of whether recently implemented legislation in Colombia and Brazil (1) provides the necessary tools to prevent the harms of wildlife trafficking (WLT) and (2) influences humans’ practices concerning the use of nonhuman animals. These questions are investigated from the dual perspectives of green criminology and public policy. The analysis is based on a qualitative empirical study undertaken in Colombia and Brazil whereby we discuss the function of the legislation in Colombia and Brazil in preventing illegal WLT. We consider the legitimacy of different practices of WLT and evaluate them with respect to species justice and environmental justice.

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Animal abuse, biotechnology and species justice

Theoretical Criminology ◽

10.1177/1362480618787179 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 363-383 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

David Rodríguez Goyes ◽

Ragnhild Sollund

Keyword(s):

Natural Resources ◽

Natural Environment ◽

Intrinsic Value ◽

Western World ◽

Green Criminology ◽

Animal Abuse ◽

Justice Theory ◽

Nonhuman Animals ◽

Instrumental View

Generally, in the modern, western world, conceptualizations of the natural environment are associated with what nature can offer us—an anthropocentric perspective whereby humans treat nature and all its biotic components as ‘natural resources’. When nature and the beings within it are regarded purely in utilitarian terms, humans lose sight of the fact that ecosystems and nonhuman animals have intrinsic value. Most biotechnological use of nonhuman animals is informed by an instrumental view of nature. In this article, we endeavour to broaden the field of animal abuse studies by including in it the exploration of biotechnological abuse of animals. We analyse the issue by discussing it in relation to differing philosophical starting points and, in particular, the rights and justice theory developed within green criminology.

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