‘Slaughter in the suburbs’: livestock slaughter and race in post-apartheid cities

Abstract

The slaughter of animals is a fundamental aspect of the economic, social and spiritual life of many people in South Africa. Under apartheid, these events generally occurred in rural areas or urban townships designated for black people. Since the transition to democracy in the 1990s, increased suburban mixing has exposed established middle-class residents, notably white people, to cattle slaughter. The article explores the resulting public discourses on these events, such as condemnations, liberal appeals for tolerance and Africanist claims to citizenship and space. In addition, the article examines anxieties that some white people express in relation to the materiality of the slaughter of animals in residential areas. The article offers a multi-layered analysis of reactions to animal slaughter in relation to race, identity, difference, space and the place of animals and meat production in cities.

Keywords:

• South Africa
• race
• suburbs
• integration
• whiteness
• animal slaughter

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Max Andrucki, Jeff Guy, Jason Hickel, Gareth Jones, Heather Dalmage and the referees for assistance with this paper.