Lobbying for captivity: discourse and the legitimisation of zoos and aquaria

Mitra, Filip Ramesh

Lobbying for captivity: discourse and the legitimisation of zoos and aquaria

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Mitra, F. Lobbying for captivity: discourse and the legitimisation of zoos and aquaria. 2018. handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10230/36077

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Abstract

The present paper attempts to analyse the discourse of three lobbies representing the zoo and aquaria sector: The Iberian, the European and the worldwide zoo and aquaria associations. The objective of this study is to understand whether their discourse is speciesist, and how the use of language justifies the captivity of non-human animals, as well as to compare the discourses. The analysis has been conducted from a non-speciesist and nonanthropocentric perspective in an attempt to challenge the discursive strategies which legitimise the captivity of non-human animals. The methodological perspective applied is critical discourse analysis, focused on language as the source of power. As a result, the study reveals that the analysed discourse is highly speciesist and anthropocentric. The associations justify the captivity of non-human animals through their involvement in conservation programmes, and the supposed educational and research value of zoos and aquaria, while their discursive strategies only present minor differences.