Is my wildlife photography tour ‘ethical’?

Before I start this article, please let me make one thing clear - this is purely an opinion - my opinion, and that certainly does not make it right. Without giving away the conclusion, I think that the bottom line is as follows;

We all have an innate feeling, when it comes to our precious wildlife, that makes it very obvious to our inner being when we feel uncomfortable with a situation. It is all of our responsibility as custodians to the world we live in, to make sure that we are never doing anything to endanger our wildlife.

It is way too precious.

Wildlife photography tours are organised by photographers and tour companies the world over. Some of these tours rely on local area knowledge, local guides and fieldcraft etc. These ‘local safari’ type trips (much like my trip to the Isle of Mull), can be an amazing way of viewing and photographing a range of species in their natural environment or habitats. On this type of tour, the guide/tour leader, will use a combination of research, local knowledge and previous experiences to take one or more people to an area in which to photograph a specific species or variety of species. Techniques such as field craft, concealment and photographing from vehicles, can all be crucial skills to have and can help a trips success, but these trips are never guaranteed to bring 100% success - wildlife is wild and can never be forced into areas that they do not wish to be.

Image of a Sony A1 camera, photographing wildlife out of a car window.

To further try to increase successful sightings, some wildlife photographic tours and trips, are hosted at certain purpose built photographic hides, particularly for opportunities to photograph ‘harder to see’ species. From my experience with photographic hides, both in the UK and overseas, the amount of stewardship that actually goes into running a higher quality hide, is astounding. The owners have spent years establishing an understanding of the species that their hides attract, to the point where they feel comfortable resting a reputation and livelihood on their success/failure.

Most ethical hide owners will only feed or bait their hides with species appropriate food, and be extremely conscious not to over feed. Many of these hides are also monitored by local governments, particularly in Europe, meaning that they are accountable to the type and amout of food that is being used.

So that brings us to the question, what is classed as ethical? Let’s open that can of worms!

When I plan my photographic workshops and tours, the welfare of the birds/mammals that we are attempting to photograph must always come first. Every attempt is made, with the help of meticulous planning (it must be my military background!), to make sure that the welfare of the species is never brought into question.

Lets talk about some good, ethical practices.

1. Do not disturb - In human life, this could be classified as an ability to ‘read the room’. The importance of understanding and practising fieldcraft means that we are often able to put ourselves into positions that enable us to get amazing sightings with animal species, without ever disturbing them. In most instances, particularly with the use of long focal lengths and telephoto lenses, without even considering modern sensor sizes and the ability to crop in post, we can photograph species without an animal even knowing that we are there.

At the first sign of any animal showing distress, stop what you are doing and calmly and slowly start to move away.

2. Respecting the law - As wildlife photographers, we should all be aware of the parameters around ‘schedule 1 species’ etc. for those that are not, the below is a quote from Rare Bird Alert - https://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/


“Where photographers do break the law it is usually when causing disturbance when photographing specially protected birds during the nesting season. The nests and eggs of wild birds are already protected by law and it is an offence to remove nestlings or eggs from a nest for photography even on a temporary basis – but extra protection is also given to the adults as well as young of species listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

  • There is no problem photographing wild Schedule 1 birds well away from the nest, but it is illegal without the necessary Licence from Natural England (or other licensing authority) to photograph any of these species IF the photographer intentionally or recklessly disturbs the bird whilst trying to photograph it while it is nest-building is in, on, at or near the nest or whilst it has dependent young.

  • In Scotland it is also an offence to recklessly or intentionally disturb or harass any Schedule 1 bird while it is lekking (ie Capercaillie and Ruff)

  • In Ireland, as part of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000 (1979) a licence is required to take or make photographic, video or other pictures of a protected wild bird of a species specified in the licence on or near a nest containing eggs or unflown young,

A photographer disturbing a Schedule I species in, on, at or near the nest etc may be committing a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £5,000 and/or a prison sentence of up to 6 months.”





3. Keep groups small - I have been to some pretty shocking sites over the years, where hundreds of birders, twitchers and photographers have accumulated like bees around a honey pot, to see or photograph a rarity that has popped up somewhere when least expected. The varied behaviours in places like this mean that I am certainly not tarring everyone with the same brush, but even so, Im fairly confident that even with scopes, binoculars and telephoto lenses, the welfare has not always been more prevalent than getting a good view of the ‘lifer’.

We significantly increase our chances of remaining incognito by being alone or in smaller groups. I intentionally keep my workshops and tours to 4 people or less, for this very reason.

I have photographed owls at a few locations in the south east over the past 5 years, where the hysteria around their arrival from scandinavia has led to crowds of photographers and birders, standing in fields fully in the open, awaiting their first owl glimpse of the year. The behaviour of the owls change, they hunt differently, sometimes at different times of the day, avoiding the more people crowded areas of their hunting ground in favour of quieter, less accessible places. On the other hand, I have also photographed the very same owls, at the very same location, with only one or two other photographers present and all concealed by camouflage or following good field craft practise, and the owls have hunted within metres of me.

For me, the importance of ethical photography stems from an awareness and education of the species that you are photographing and a focus on their welfare.

There is definitely some poor behaviour out there when it comes to wildlife photography, and the pursuit of ‘getting the image’, but what this statement should never be followed by is ‘at all cost’!

I also think that honesty is a big thing.

Don’t ever try and pass off hide captured images as anything other than that. The pressure from social media unfortunately leads us to always try and capture the ‘perfect’ image, and in reality, perfect has become (not necessarily correctly) images that display perfect bokeh, are pin sharp, detailed and extremely ‘posed’. Is this all that wildlife photography is now about?

Also, most photographic competitions, will not allow images catured at paid or baited hides. Bear this in mind if entering photo competitions is ‘your thing’!

I personally think that there is a balance. In my opinion, hide photography absolutely has its place, if done ethically and responsibly, but so does being ‘in the field’, finding your own opportunities and working for the image, both in terms of prior preparation and in time invested.

I have recently seen people photographing Kingfishers by luring them onto perches over a builders bucket full of fish - this is abhorrent behaviour in my opinion, that has absolutely no place in wildlife photography. Neither does photographing Kingfishers diving into glass tanks to get underwater images, but as I previously stated, this is merely my opinion.

These examples made, I have personally photographed Kingfishers at 2 different paid hides in the UK, where larger ponds are stocked with small fish that the Kingfishers hunt, and have not felt uncomfortable on either occasion - is there a difference?

In each of these examples, the birds are attracted by an ‘easy catch’ but return at relatively regular intervals, unharmed and of their own free will.

‘Colin the Cuckoo’ is another example - a Cuckoo that travelled for at least 8 years, to the same field in Surrey, all the way from Africa, to be fed by birders and photographers on juicy meal worms for a few months each year!

Did that bird come to any harm by being baited? Or did it infact live longer than it would have otherwise bearing in mind the average age of a Cuckoo is 5-6 years.

In conclusion, if you are planning on doing a photographic workshop or going on a wildlife photography tour, I would strongly suggest trying to find out as much as possible about the way that it is being run. What species are likely to be seen? How are they being found? And are they being lured or baited?

Then it is very much up to the individual to decide whether they feel comfortable attending.

I have no idea how I have managed to write this article without reference or comparison to going on safari or garden bird feeders, but there you go, I did! Each of these topics have also often been drawn as comparisons to the debate!

For the record, all of my tours and workshops make it very clear how we will find and photograph the species that we are targeting and the below is a testimonial from someone that recently travelled to Norway on my Photograph Eagles in Norway tour.

If you are interested in joining the debate, have thoughts or an opinion, or would like to find out more about my photography, workshops or tours, please contact me.

“I was impressed by how much care was taken to ensure the eagles were not disturbed on Adam’s tour to Norway. Entering and leaving the hide only under the cover of darkness makes for a long day, but it all adds to the magic of the experience. And there were plenty of other species around to photograph while hoping and waiting for the star of the show to arrive, which it did!”





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