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Professor Charlotte Kroløkke Investigates Human-animal Bonds

Date: 2022.09.23

In an upcoming paper, Professor Charlotte Kroløkke studies how people give things value and the ways in which human-animal relationships emerge.

Kroløkke is part of a research team consisting of archaeologists, cultural researchers, geneticists, and game developers working together to gather and disseminate knowledge about the common origins and cultural heritage of the Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish mountain cattle breeds. The aim is to raise awareness for more sustainable use of the now threatened breeds that are at risk of being outcompeted by more commercial breeds.

Professor Charlotte Kroløkke. Image: Private

Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down with Charlotte Kroløkke to ask her why she does what she does and why it is important to analyze human-animal bonds: the ways that humans talk about animals as well as the ethics of love and care that seem to hold, in this case, mountain cattle and humans together. A theme that has been central in her upcoming paper titled “A flock of one’s own: Nordic human-mountain cattle kinship-making practices”.

How did you choose the topic of this article?

This article came out of the photo competition that was organized within the 3MC– Nordic Mountain Cattle project. I thought the photos were so interesting and thought-provoking. When people were in the photos, they were positioned not as supervisors or as workers. Instead, they were obviously having some sort of relationship with the cattle.

Mountain cattle were often portrayed as strong, protective and nurturing mothers. Image: Gry Eriksen

I figured it would be interesting to know more about why people sent the photos, the reason why they took the photos they did, and the kinds of experiences they had with mountain cattle.

What did you find out in the interviews?

Together with Anne Nørkjær Bang, at the time a student researcher, I interviewed 13 people online and a few on the phone. We showed them the photos that they had sent and asked them “why did you take this photo?” and “what does this photo mean to you?”

Cows had often been given human characteristics. Image: Annu Puurunen

Of course, the mountain cattle meant different things to different people. But cows were clearly not just producers of dairy and cheese. The animals were almost part of the family in a way that we would not have known if we hadn’t seen the photos and talked to people about the photos they took. And it was also obvious that they liked the cattle and had developed mutual friendships with the animal. There were clearly some friendship bonds emerging, and this even seemed to surprise those we interviewed.

Is it possible, from the stories, to conclude that the Nordic mountain cattle are somehow different from other breeds?

Those whom I interviewed talked about mountain cattle being especially friendly, outgoing, caring and nurturing in ways that you would talk about friends or maybe even relatives.

In some images, the cow was positioned between the couple much like a dog or even a human child. Image: Veera Konsti

It suggests that the owners think that they’re different from other cows. In these interviews, cows are given human personality traits, in contrast to the “turbo cow” or the cow that goes in and produces a lot of milk but becomes somewhat anonymous in the process.

The 3MC project’s mission is to preserve and promote the legacy of the three cattle breeds. Do you think your study will contribute to that?

I think my work can help in terms of seeing genetic resources as forms of cultural heritage that are valuable for the future. The cultural values that are assigned to these genetic resources are critical to understanding why preservation is needed in the first place.

The project is funded with a grant from Interreg Nord and Länsstyrelsen Norrbotten 2019-2022 and has 5 Nordic partners. NordGen is the coordinator for the project as well as responsible for investigating pedigree and population kinship, dissemination of results and implementation of applications. NordGen will also be responsible for establishing the network of preservers.