Pratiche contestate. Controversie legali tra comunità patrimoniali e attivismo animalista

Abstract

The paper starts from critical animal studies and animal rights debate but also focuses on new roles for ethnographers in the field as mediators and engaged researchers. This introduces a case-study of a group of ceremonials involving animals in the South of Italy (Molise), recently accused of abuses by animal rights movements. The aroused legal dispute was solved through a mediation process in which anthropologists and vets were engaged as experts working with local communities and their legal representatives. A new set of rules was, then, established coherently with national codes for animal welfare.

Keywords

• intangible cultural heritage
• critical animal studies
• ethnographic mediation
• heritage communities
• legal controversies on popular traditions