The Welfare of Wild Animals in Photographs

Wildlife photography that appears to show natural behavior often involves welfare compromises that viewers cannot see.

Key Facts

Set-up wildlife photography using trained, captive animals is rarely disclosed to viewers
Bait photography — using live or dead food to attract subjects — can create predation stress
Social media wildlife photography often shows habituated animals that face increased human conflict
Photography of nesting birds at close range can cause nest abandonment

Welfare Considerations

Wildlife photography creates invisible welfare costs when irresponsible practices are used to get compelling images. Captive animals staged to look wild mislead viewers about animal behavior and create consumer demand for wildlife that fuels capture. Bait photography attracts predators and prey to artificial situations that can cause real predation events. Habituating animals to human presence for photography can lead to their death when they approach humans in dangerous contexts. Ethical wildlife photography — practiced with genuine respect for animal welfare — is possible and produces images that do not require welfare compromise.

What You Can Do

Learn about and practice ethical wildlife photography guidelines
Never purchase wildlife images from photographers who use captive or habituated subjects
Disclose captive subjects and any bait use when sharing wildlife images
Support wildlife photography ethics education in photography communities