Ethical considerations

[nodav]

Hey Melissa! What are some ethical considerations for wildlife photography?

[avmil]

Along these lines... I read the Rolling Stones article about game farms. Could you talk about that a bit?

[Melissa Groo]

Hello nodav! Ethical considerations must always play into our approach to wildlife and wildlife photography. It's as important as the settings on our camera--maybe even more so. Wildlife has never been so threatened. We are in the midst of the sixth great extinction. We've lost 3 billion birds since the 1970's (essentially 1 out of 4 birds, population-wise). And we've lost half our wildlife in general, over the last 40 years. Wild mammals, for instance, make up just 4% of the mammal kingdom worldwide--the rest are humans and livestock. Wild animals are running out of habitat, because there are so many of us humans—as well as facing other huge challenges, like climate change.

Sorry for the grim figures, but it brings home how vital it is that we have to be very careful and conscientious when we are out there. Why would we, as nature photographers, want to endanger the very thing that we're excited to photograph, and to celebrate? For me, ethics really comes from empathy. I think we have to first understand the challenges for wild creatures. We have to know a bit about their natural history, and what the threats are to their survival. How do we not introduce additional threats by our actions? There is so much great information out there about animals of all kinds, and their lives and behaviors. You can even look up online the alarm posture of any animal, and find images showing that. Knowing what signs to look out for are key with any animal. What do they look like when they are scared, or trying to look threatening?  

The truth is, anytime we are out there, we are disturbing wildlife. I do it all the time. But I am hopefully growing and learning all the time, and doing better each time I am out there. Our field practices must reflect great care and respect. The great news is--that's how we get the best shots! When an animal realizes we are not a threat, or maybe doesn't even know we're there. We have so many great tools to use now, from silent shutters, to high-end photography blinds, to camera traps, to even just shooting from our cars. 

It's not so much about ethical “rules” people need to follow--ethics, as some argue, can be a subjective thing. And there are so many gray areas when it comes to ethics. Every single situation is different. What we can look to are best practices, that is, strategies for being near an animal based on an understanding of its behavior and ecology. At Audubon's request, I worked with birder/writer Kenn Kaufman and I a few years ago, developed a list of best practices for photography of birds, and you can see that here: https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography

It's been refined and added to over the years, and includes filmmaking now too. 

A basic guideline/best practice is to never feed predatory animals to get the shot, from owls to foxes to bears. Doing so changes their behavior in ways that can be fatal to them. I’ve seen it over and over again, and it’s tragic. No photo is more important than the life of an animal. As I often say, these are just about photos to us—to a wild animal, every single moment is about survival. 

I think the best thing we can do for any wild animal is to keep it wild. Don’t tame it for a photo, or compel it to perform for you. Once animals lose their fear of humans, they are vulnerable to so many potential problems. Keep it wild must be our motto. 

So this is a longwinded answer and I hope it helps you. Know that Audubon has a whole section of their web site devoted to ethical issues around photography, and you can see that section here: https://www.audubon.org/section/ethics Definitely a lot of good resources there. 

Again—as long as act from a place of empathy for our subjects, and build that into our fieldcraft, we are on the right path!

 

[Melissa Groo]

@avmil! I'm glad you read the article about photo game farms. The writer did a great job with giving a very detailed history and explanation of why these places are antithetical to nature photography, and are abysmal facilities for captive wildlife. For those who missed it, it's here:

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/photography-game-farms-exploiting-wild-animals-1235002275/

Photography game farms are captive wildlife facilities where genetically-wild animals like wolves, snow leopards, lynxes, bears, mountain lions, foxes, coyotes, badgers, bobcats, and more, are kept in small concrete-floored cells, to be brought out to perform for treats in front of paying photographers, filmmakers, and illustrators, in natural-looking settings. Most of the hundreds of animals that live at these places, never get out even for a few minutes like the performers do. They are there simply to breed, to keep pumping out babies to be sold within weeks of birth, to exotic pet owners, roadside zoos, exotic animal auctions, and more. Some of the babies are kept though, at least for a while, to be used for baby animal photo workshops, featuring, for instance, bobcat kittens posed perfectly in the mouth of a log. People travel from all over the world to these places, to get their shots of elusive animals. Often they share on social, and don't even divulge the animals are captive. The photos permeate social media, esp Instagram. You have tigers running directly at the camera, mountain lions leaping in broad daylight from one boulder to another, etc. They are used in ads, calendars, books, greeting cards, and heavily dominate in all stock agencies. It's a desecration to the field of nature photography, and it's, more than anything, an act of absolute cruelty to these animals, to support these places. (shall I tell you how I really feel? ha).

I'm currently a defendant in a lawsuit, sued for "tortious interference" because I sounded the alarm about these places, having gathered hundreds of documents through FOIA requests over the years, to determine what happened to the baby animals at these places once they grew up--and what the living conditions are like for all the animals there. What I learned horrified me and set me on this journey. I shared what I had learned, on social media and in articles--and I shared only the truth. Juried trial is next summer, in Montana. Stay tuned....

PS we can each be better about the places we visit for captive photography. Make sure at the very least the zoo or other facility you are visiting is AZA-accredited. Did you know roadside zoos can call themselves anything they want--even a "sanctuary" or a "refuge" when they are anything but? The best choices are true sanctuaries, and there is no better guide to those than the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. Find a true sanctuary near you and support it!