Subject: [Tweeters] re: Photographer Ethics & Education
Date: Feb 12 19:44:47 2012
From: semipalmata at gmail.com - semipalmata at gmail.com


I'm a wildlife photographer and a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, and I'm aghast at the actions of some fellow photographers. I agree that education is an important facet of curbing this behavior, but the best methodology I've found is peer pressure. As others have pointed out, there is not enough enforcement to police these types of problems in a regulatory way.

When I see unethical behavior in the field, including parents who let their children throw rocks at birds and so forth, I nicely confront the person and explain that what they are doing is either unethical, illegal, or both. I carry a copy of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act with me, if needed, as well as a copy of the North American Nature Photography guidelines for reference. If they fail to respond and they are clearly in violation of regulations or laws, I report them. It's hard-edged on one level, but I have no problem doing this for the sake of wild animals who are already stressed by our presence. Although on a few occasions I've encountered abject hostility, those incidents amounted to a lot of bluster, thankfully (well, with the exception of one). But, I'm willing to take it on the chin for the birds. In many cases, my approaching an individual, armed with information, resulted in some interesting conversations and an opportunity to educate the person, and perhaps even inspire greater respect for the animal they were formerly harassing.

There will always be field turds who don't feel the least bit of shame over their actions, despite public or private admonitions. But it's still worth letting them know that they are personas non grata among those of us who do abide by strict ethical codes. The fact is if we, as a group, don't address the problem at the spot, it creates an environment of tacit approval from the violators' perspective. I can't being to fathom how the two photographers in the posted video didn't intervene with the photog "stalking" the owls. It seems that incident could have been easily nipped in the bud, although in fairness, there's no audio of the exchange between the two.

Best,
Ingrid Taylar
Seattle, WA