Being a wildlife photographer made me aware of these concepts early in my journey. I wanted to share them with you as these practices are primordial to avoid.
Here are the most common unethical practices:
1. Baiting/feeding the wildlife
2. Playing their sound to attract them
3. Chasing
4. Overcrowding / Being too close to them or their nest
5. Altering the environment and Provocation
Let’s explain them in more details.
Baiting and feeding the wildlife
Baiting basically makes the animals more dependent on human, and also less scared of us. This leads them to find us even if it means crossing a busy street where the risk of getting hit is high. And that’s only if the food they are being fed is good for them. As an example, according to the Canadian Wildlife Federation, giving bread to ducks (or any waterfowl) can lead to malnourishment as bread doesn’t provide them with any good nutrients. Please visit their website for additional info.
It is also important to follow local regulations, some area forbid feeding wildlife, even small birds. A park close to where I live is a conservation area with a panel at the entrance stating not to feed any wildlife, yet I still see many people not following that vital rule. The park is in the city, so it attracts lots of families that come to feed the birds and squirrels (especially more since Covid started), so the local impact is quite important.
Playing their sound to attract them
Playing a recording (or whistling for bird) of the wildlife you’re trying to observe is a form a baiting. I could have included it in the first part, but it is such an important subject that I wanted to discuss it in a separate section.
Let’s take birds for example. Some people want the bird to come to them, so they would whistle or play a recording. And many birds will come, but to inspect the source; maybe a female? Maybe a rival?
This can be bad especially during nesting season, as the bird would leave the nest unattended and open for preys. Calling birds can stress and distract them during important task, such as finding food in winter (which is scarce) or taking care of their family.
Harassing wildlife can be unlawful, please look at your local regulations.
Chasing
This one is self-explanatory, chasing create enormous stress on any animals. Just imagine how you would feel being chased; you would focus so much on the threat that you would forget about your surroundings. You might cross a busy road without looking and get hit.
Some animals (like moose, elk and deer) might also become defensive and attack, especially during mating season or if in presence of offspring.
Overcrowding / Being too close to them or their nest
So many times, I see large group of photographers or wildlife enthusiasts around one species. This obviously put stress on the animal as it might not see any escape routes or trying to protect a baby. It’s even worse if overcrowding leads to the point above, chasing.
Distance is key, always be in a safe distance for you and the animal. This brings me to a point from my first blog post; we should educate ourselves on wildlife behaviour to find sign of stress in the animals to know if we are too close to them, as sometimes it’s hard to tell.
Being too close to their nest is like having people constantly in front of your house, you would want to move out. However, animals don’t have that many options and sometimes moving out could lead to being attacked or simply not finding another suitable home.
Altering the environment and Provocation
These points are mostly for photographers trying to get the perfect shot, you should never remove branches, dig, or alter the environment in any way to observe wildlife. Some photographers even provoke the animals by yelling or throwing items at them in order to get a unique or rare reaction to photograph. I would prefer going back home with no images than feeling like I changed an animal or the environment negatively.
The concept of Leaving no Trace is something that everyone should follow when going out in Nature.
Please feel free to share your opinion or stories, I would love to hear them.
Cheers,
Marco