Tag: society

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Intangible natural heritage is a concept that has been addressed in several publications and that offers a new and expanded view onto world heritage conservation. However, the difference from intangible cultural heritage has not been clearly defined. One distinction in the categories of world heritage that are established in international conventions appears where “the intangible” is not created by humans but by a nonhuman animal. Living organisms sustain human life materially and provide inspiration to humans, both in their material form and by displaying behaviors, or via observable, yet not tangible, dynamic phenomena and processes. This includes migration patterns, aggregations, vocalizations or the formation of symbiotic and mutualistic inter-species relationships. Given the non-material character of these elements, their transmission by nonhuman living beings, and their importance to human culture, it is proposed that such phenomena are considered as intangible natural heritage sensu stricto in the discourse of world heritage.

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Canine rescue is a growing movement that affects the lives of tens of thousands of nonhuman animals and people every year. Rescue is noteworthy not only for its numbers, but also because it challenges common understandings of animal advocacy. Popular accounts often portray work on behalf of animals as sentimental, individualistic, and apolitical. In fact, work on behalf of animals has always been political, in multiple ways. It is characterized both by internal political tensions, especially between animal rights and welfare positions, and by complex relations to the broader public sphere. I analyze canine rescue, with a focus on pit bull rescue, to show that an important segment of canine rescue movements adopts an explicitly political approach which blurs the divide between rights and welfare, addresses the social context of the human-animal bond, and links animal advocacy to social justice.

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