貓城崛起：新北市猴硐貓觀光地景形構

The Rising of Cat-town: The Formation of Cat-tourism Landscape at Houtong, New Taipei City

本文運用批判的觀光研究觀點，以及動物倫理和人與動物的視角，探討新北市猴硐以貓為核心的觀光地景形構，及其引發的地方發展與動物保護爭議。作者通過文獻分析、實地觀察及訪談，獲得以下發現：首先，看似偶然形成的貓城，其實延續了當地以自然景觀和礦業襲產吸引遊客的觀光化發展。其次，貓觀光地景的形成涉及多重行動者的協調與衝突，呈現為不同論述、實作與物件的複雜網絡。第三，貓經濟的符號化與擬人化建構，塑造了貓的奇觀化存在，也促使居民生活及其他動物邊緣化。第四，貓觀光展現了地方追求發展的不懈邏輯，但動物權利理念也形成遊憩化地景中的異聲，萌生合宜的人與動物關係。 This article discusses the configuration of the tourist landscapes centering on the cats in Houtong in the New Taipei City, and explores how controversial issues regarding local development and animal protection are triggered because of it. Through literature review, field observation and in-depth interviews, several implications can be made: Firstly, the recent accidental emergence of a Cat Town is a continuation of Houtong's tourism development based on the natural and industrial heritage of mining sites. Secondly, the emergence of the tourist landscapes of cats has involved multiple actors with their negotiations as well as conflicts in between, which then molds a complex network fabricated by various discourses, practices, and objects. Third, the symbolization of cats and their anthropomorphic configuration in the cat economy have made the cat a spectacle, but the residents' everyday life and the animals of other species have also been made marginalized as a result of this. The cat tourism demonstrates the humans' inexorable pursuit for further development. Calls for animal rights, however, still stand out as the dissent from the recreational landscapes, and breeding appropriate human-animal relationship.

This article discusses the configuration of the tourist landscapes centering on the cats in Houtong in the New Taipei City, and explores how controversial issues regarding local development and animal protection are triggered because of it. Through literature review, field observation and in-depth interviews, several implications can be made: Firstly, the recent accidental emergence of a Cat Town is a continuation of Houtong's tourism development based on the natural and industrial heritage of mining sites. Secondly, the emergence of the tourist landscapes of cats has involved multiple actors with their negotiations as well as conflicts in between, which then molds a complex network fabricated by various discourses, practices, and objects. Third, the symbolization of cats and their anthropomorphic configuration in the cat economy have made the cat a spectacle, but the residents' everyday life and the animals of other species have also been made marginalized as a result of this. The cat tourism demonstrates the humans' inexorable pursuit for further development. Calls for animal rights, however, still stand out as the dissent from the recreational landscapes, and breeding appropriate human-animal relationship.