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oa KEIZER WILHELM II ALS HONDENBEZITTER
De instrumentalisering van de monarchie als ‘wapen’ in debatten over hondenfokkerij
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: De Moderne Tijd, Volume 2, Issue 3-4, Jan 2018, p. 312 - 325
Abstract
Instrumentalisation of the monarchy in dog breeding debates
Nineteenth century European rulers could not consider hunting or dog ownership a private choice. Regarding the role dog breeding had started to play in society, every decision made by the vips of that time was perceived as a political indication; the contemporary public discussed the choices and commented on them. Various groups and individuals even used them as argument to support their own claims. The article shows on two cases – firstly, the exploitation of Wilhelm II to the advantage of the dachshund lobby and secondly, a conflict between a hunting dog club and the ministry of agriculture – that the Emperor, long before 1918, was losing credit among influential parts of the society, based on new views on nature and animal treatment. Wilhelm’s hunting behaviour was perceived as obsolete and neither the use of the imperial authority as argument aimed at substantiating one’s claims could persuade the state bureaucracy that already oriented itself on scientific and transparent dog breeding policy.