Exploring values, rules, and knowledge around traditional hunting in a rapidly developing society

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Access rights

openAccess
CC BY
publishedVersion

URL

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä

Authors

Plieninger, Tobias
Bogadóttir, Ragnheiður
Fagerholm, Nora
Magnussen, Eyðfinn
Olafsson, Anton S.
Raymond, Christopher M.
Verbrugge, Laura N.H.

Date

2025-04

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

13

Series

People and Nature, Volume 7, issue 4, pp. 777-789

Abstract

Consideration of traditional practices of natural resource management in decision-making is crucial to meet the challenges of the world’s intersecting sustainability crises. However, knowledge of the role that such practices play in developed societies is scant, especially in Europe. This study investigates the persistence of traditional hunting practices in the context of the Faroe Islands. Specifically, it explores the values, rules, and knowledge in relation to traditional hunting practices that shape human–nature relationships. Through 31 semi-structured interviews with active participants in mountain hare hunting, pilot whale hunting, and fulmar fowling, the study employs thematic content analysis to identify key themes and interrelations grounded in participant perspectives. Utilising the values-rules-knowledge (v-r-k) framework, which integrates diverse values, rules, and knowledge types, the study addresses the complex social-ecological challenges in the North Atlantic. These are characterized by rapid economic growth, geographic isolation, strong place attachment, and social-ecological vulnerabilities. Our results show that while traditional practices are diminishing across Europe, they remain vibrant in the Faroe Islands. Yet, hunting has shifted from subsistence to a recreational activity, with relational values to nature and the local community becoming more important than instrumental values. Our study demonstrates the important influence of the transmission of specific values, rules, and knowledge over time on hunting and ecosystem management practices, which extends existing scholarship on the motivational basis of hunting. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Description

Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). People and Nature published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

Keywords

cultural practices, Faroe Islands, hunting, local ecological knowledge, relational values, values-rules-knowledge framework

Other note

Citation

Plieninger, T, Bogadóttir, R, Fagerholm, N, Magnussen, E, Olafsson, A S, Raymond, C M & Verbrugge, L N H 2025, ' Exploring values, rules, and knowledge around traditional hunting in a rapidly developing society ', People and Nature, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 777-789 . https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10780