The domestic, the wild and its interstices: what can a dog do in Tierra del Fuego

Abstract This study examines dogs that pull sledges in tourist activities in Ushuaia (capital of Tierra del Fuego province) and their relations with their breeders (the mushers) and with the tourists they both work for. Nevertheless, during my field research I also came across other dogs in other contexts, among them the numerous companion dogs abandoned in the city and the so-called “wild dogs”, who live in rural areas and are thus seen by Fuegians as “harmful animals” and an “invasive alien species” - that is, a problem to be solved. In this paper I consider sled dogs and wild dogs, and the different statuses that dogs can assume in these different contexts in which animals and humans relate, considering that in Tierra del Fuego canine work operates as a domesticity regime.

摘要 本研究聚焦火地岛省首府乌斯怀亚旅游活动中的拉雪橇犬，探讨其与雪橇犬驭手（mushers）以及二者共同服务的游客之间的互动关系。然而，在实地调研过程中，笔者还接触到其他场景下的犬只：包括城市中大量被遗弃的伴侣犬，以及所谓的“野犬”。这类野犬栖息于乡村地区，因此被火地岛原住民视为“有害动物”与“外来入侵物种”——即亟待解决的问题。本文将围绕雪橇犬与野犬展开讨论，分析犬只在人与动物互动的不同场景中所能承担的多元身份地位，同时考量到在火地岛地区，犬类劳作被视作一种家庭化驯养制度。