Across Europe, several wildlife species are making surprising comebacks. The returnees help create conservation success stories, but at the same time are subject of commotion and conflict in many countries. This article examines public discussions surrounding the returns of the red fox and the wild boar to Flanders (northern Belgium) in various media and forums, ranging from news and social media to the Flemish Parliament. The aim of the research is to provide insights into the role of rhetoric in the continuation and exacerbation of public divides. The classical theory of stasis is used as a systematic method for locating the points of disagreement within a debate and understanding the discussants' rhetorical practices at these points. The analysis reveals a constant striving for 'logic' either to reaffirm the own standpoints or to subvert those of the opponent. The article demonstrates how the discussants' efforts to provide conclusive arguments have the unplanned result of even greater tensions and distances between groups in society. In this respect, two relevant tendencies are presented that hinder opportunities for reconciling positions and novel ideas to emerge: 1) the limited elaboration and deliberation on the issues of contention; 2) the linking of these issues to socio-political relationships.

中文翻译：

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沿着断层线争论：对野生动物复出的公众分歧的修辞分析

在整个欧洲，几种野生动植物物种卷土重来。回返者帮助创造了保护成功的故事，但与此同时，在许多国家中，动荡和冲突也是主题。本文研究了从新闻和社交媒体到佛兰德议会等各种媒体和论坛中有关狐狸和野猪返回法兰德斯（比利时北部）的公共讨论。该研究的目的是对修辞在公共鸿沟的延续和加剧中的作用提供见解。古典的停滞理论被用作一种系统的方法来定位辩论中的分歧点，并了解这些点上讨论者的修辞手法。分析揭示了对“逻辑”的不断努力 重申自己的立场或颠覆对手的立场。本文说明了讨论者为提供结论性论点所做的努力是如何产生计划外的结果的，而这是社会各群体之间更大的张力和距离的结果。在这方面，提出了两种相关的趋势，这些趋势阻碍了调和立场和出现新思想的机会：1）对争执问题的详尽阐述和审议；2）将这些问题与社会政治关系联系起来。提出了两种相关的趋势，这些趋势阻碍了调和立场和出现新思想的机会：1）对争执问题的阐述和讨论有限；2）将这些问题与社会政治关系联系起来。提出了两种相关的趋势，这些趋势阻碍了调和立场和出现新思想的机会：1）对争执问题的阐述和讨论有限；2）将这些问题与社会政治关系联系起来。