Dog Entanglements: Big Game Hounds in Uruguay from the View of Varied Social Collectives

https://doi.org/10.25058/20112742.n40.05

Leticia Poliak
Universidad de la República, Uruguay
letipoliak@gmail.com

Juan Martín Dabezies
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2055-8549
Universidad de la República, Uruguay
jmdabezies@cure.edu.uy

Abstract:

Dogs are critical elements in the practice of various modalities of big game. They are primarily used in wild boar hunting, in which dogs often are dead or injured. In this line of thought, some social collectives are against using hounds in hunting, arguing it entails a high risk for dog welfare or its severe impact on native species conservation efforts. This work focuses on the significance of big game hounds among various social collectives in Uruguay. We analyze the meanings of dogs in this social scheme and the strains between hunters, animal rights collectives, and the State. We suggest big game hounds resulted from an entanglement of practices and representations related to game, animal rights, and nature conservation.

Keywords: hounds, human-animal relation, animal rights.