The battle over cattle: livestock management in a changing rural landscape

摘要

The traditional debates on livestock management seem stuck within a singular view of livestock management and its impact on the land.The.battle over cattle.is a.battle over perspectives.. People have mind pictures of what the landscape should look like, within the context of cultures that shape it.Within this landscape,cattle can be conceptualised as a particular form of.currency.with alternative ways of managing it.Management of this resource is contentious.As such, many livestock development interventions appear to be founded on one of two contrasting images : people in harmony with nature (.Garden of Eden" dream), and people at war with nature and each other with the resultant degradation of the landscape (.Armageddon" nightmare).A more inclusive and multi‐dimensional view is needed that enables scientists and practitioners to understand the complexities of livestock keepers and livestock management as a practice that is continuously shifting in a rapidly changing world.