Savages under suspicion: (Mis)trust and civilization processes among wild boar hunters in Uruguay

Abstract

This article examines wild boar hunting in Uruguay, exploring the tensions between rural practices and urban expectations. The study focuses on two main axes: the dichotomy between barbarism and civilization, and the “ecology of mistrust” that structures interactions among hunters, landowners, and state institutions. The research reveals how the modernization of hunting, through the adoption of advanced technologies, has transformed traditional practice, aligning it more closely with urban values of conservation, biosecurity, and animal welfare. This process has generated greater legitimacy for hunters in the face of critical sectors but has also reconfigured power relations and identities within rural communities. The concept of “ecology of mistrust” is presented as a distinctive feature of hunting in Uruguay, reflecting a broader conflict between rural and urban values. This dynamic is manifested in the management of hunting permits and in daily interactions between hunters and landowners. The study concludes that the modernization of hunting in Uruguay reflects global trends, but develops in a local context marked by rural-urban tensions and dynamics of mistrust, revealing deeper conflicts about rural identity, biosecurity, and animal ethics.