Ethics commentary: subjects of knowledge and control in field primatology

American Journal of Primatology
N M MaloneF J White

Abstract

Our primate kin are routinely displaced from their habitats, hunted for meat, captured for trade, housed in zoos, made to perform for our entertainment, and used as subjects in biomedical testing. They are also the subjects of research inquiries by field primatologists. In this article, we place primate field studies on a continuum of human and alloprimate relationships as a heuristic device to explore the unifying ethical implications of such inter-relationships, as well as address specific ethical challenges arising from common research protocols "in the field" (e.g. risks associated with habituation, disease transmission, invasive collection of biological samples, etc.). Additionally, we question the widespread deployment of conservation- and/or local economic development-based justifications for field-based primatological pursuits. Informed by decades of combined fieldwork experience in Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, we demonstrate the process by which the adherence to a particular ethical calculus can lead to unregulated and ethically problematic research agendas. In conclusion, we offer several suggestions to consider in the establishment of a formalized code of ethics for field primatology.

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Jan 21, 2000·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·E J Szathmáry
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Dec 11, 2003·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Karen B Strier
May 9, 2007·Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science : JAAWS·Elizabeth V Lonsdorf
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Oct 24, 2009·Zoo Biology·Sarah HodgkissVincent Nijman
Sep 2, 2010·American Journal of Primatology·Agustin Fuentes, Kimberley J Hockings
Jan 1, 1992·American Journal of Primatology·Frances J White

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Citations

Aug 2, 2013·ILAR Journal·Lori GruenJill Pruetz
Mar 15, 2014·Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics·Hope Ferdowsian, Agustín Fuentes
Oct 17, 2012·American Journal of Primatology·Michelle BezansonSean M Watts
Jul 26, 2019·Evolutionary Anthropology·Michelle Bezanson, Allison McNamara
Dec 24, 2018·International Journal of Primatology·Alexandra Palmer, Nicholas Malone

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