Hi All. An Avian workshop was brought to my attention with the following statement in the description of the workshop:
“We will feed the raptors mice to entice them closer and anyone on this trip must be 100% comfortable with using mice.”
While I applaud the upfront honesty, I find it concerning to say the least that this workshop does this and that people are signing up. Here’s a link to the workshop:
http://www.studebakerstudio.com/utah-winter-raptors
From the Audubon Guidelines:
Audubon literally forbids raptor baiting in their Guide to Ethical Bird Photography – ” Never lure birds (including but not limited to hawks, owls, eagles, ospreys, roadrunners) with bait. “Bait” includes live animals (such as snakes, fish, mice, crickets, worms); dead animals or parts of animals; processed meat; and decoys such as fake mice. Baiting can change the behavior of these predatory birds in ways that are harmful for them.”
From the NANPA Ethical Guidelines:
" Do not participate in or endorse the use of a live mammal as bait for photographic purposes.
Use of a live mammal as bait is unethical and can cause harm to predatory birds and animals."
and from our NPN Avian Guidelines:
"Photos of captive birds taken at commercial game farms or photos taken using live bait are prohibited. "
I sure hope that the workshop leaders are telling their participants that they should never use any of the images for any photography contest or mislead anyone about how the images were captured.