No thanks was given to Marineland this Thanksgiving Sunday! The Toronto Star featured a story today about angry protesters crowding Marineland on its last open day of the season. This location of ecotourism has received plenty of negative publicity this summer. Milstein looks at how Western zoo institutions structure and frame the natural environment and animals. She explores three "dialects" in the traditional Western zoo setting. First she determines there is an inherent "mastery over nature" that is somehow linked to progress in society (Milstein, 2009). Second, she relates North American ideology to the idea that humans see themselves as the "dominant" species, with animals and other beings in nature being subordinate (Milstein, 2009). Third, she explores exploitation of nature, suggesting that the environment is "something that exists to be appropriated and commodified for ever-increasing accumulation and profits within global political economic frameworks." Due to these predominant dialects surrounding the zoo industry, there exists a tension, considering zoos and other institutions that house foreign animals are often illustrated as educational and conservational establishments. Ecotourism, therefore, may be seen as a facilitation of education for learning children, or an exploitive and unfortunate invention that is harming the most amazing species this world has to offer.
Check out the story here:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1267987--marineland-stormed-by-protesters
Cheers!
Marlee
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