Camera traps are increasingly used to monitor wild animals non-invasively. While less harmful than physical capture, they still raise welfare questions that responsible researchers and conservationists should consider.
Camera trapping is generally considered a welfare-positive monitoring tool compared to physical capture methods, but it is not welfare-neutral. Flash triggers cause startle responses that, if repeated frequently at high-use stations, could alter movement patterns or create negative associations with specific sites. Scent lures that attract animals to stations may expose them to unusual olfactory stimuli that provoke stress or change behaviour in ways that affect their normal ecology. Responsible camera trapping practice minimises these impacts through careful station placement, use of non-flash or infrared triggers, and avoidance of scent lures at sensitive sites such as den entrances. As camera trapping scales through citizen science, ensuring that public deployments follow welfare-considerate protocols becomes increasingly important.