Guide · Ethics

The Code of the Field

Every animal you photograph is busy surviving. Our code is simple: the subject's welfare comes before the picture, the habitat stays as you found it, and the caption tells the truth.

Know the law

Welfare before the picture

Disturbance is not always obvious. A bird that flushes from its feeding spot burns energy it may need to survive a cold night. A deer that stops grazing to watch you is losing feeding time. A seal that shuffles into the water from a haul-out is spending effort it would rather save. Learn the signs of stress: repeated alarm calls, head-up staring, freezing, tail flicking, or moving steadily away.

When you see them, back off quietly and give the animal more space. The Audubon Society's Guide to Ethical Bird Photography puts it plainly: the well-being of the bird and its environment comes first. That principle applies to every species.

Know the law

In Great Britain, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb a bird listed on Schedule 1, such as a kingfisher, barn owl or little ringed plover, while it is building a nest or is at or near an active nest, or to disturb its dependent young. Photographing these birds at the nest requires a licence from the relevant statutory body: Natural England, NatureScot or Natural Resources Wales. Northern Ireland has its own legislation, administered by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

Bats, otters, great crested newts and other protected species have similar safeguards. Abroad, rules differ but often go further: in Yellowstone National Park you must stay at least 100 yards from bears and wolves and 25 yards from other animals. If in doubt, assume protection applies and keep your distance.

No baiting, no playback, no props

Live bait, recorded calls and staged set-ups can draw animals into dangerous habits, pull birds off territory during breeding and teach predators to approach people. Many reserves prohibit call playback outright. We recommend against all of them.

Garden feeding stations are a reasonable middle ground when done well: clean feeders, food appropriate for the season, and positions safe from cats and windows. Never move vegetation to "open up" a nest or den, and never handle, chase or flush an animal for a shot.

Honest captions and careful sharing

If an image was made at a wildlife park, a rescue centre or under controlled conditions, say so. Major competitions such as Wildlife Photographer of the Year, run by the Natural History Museum in London, publish rules on animal welfare and require honest captioning. Viewers deserve to know what they are looking at, and wild animals deserve credit for being wild.

Think carefully before posting the exact location of rare or sensitive species. Strip GPS data from files and describe the area broadly. A single viral post can bring crowds that trample banks, flush roosts and push a struggling population over the edge.

Leave only footprints

The Countryside Code in England and Wales and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code ask the same of us as the international Leave No Trace principles: plan ahead, stick to paths, leave gates as you find them, take your rubbish home and respect other people. For photographers that also means not trampling vegetation for a better angle, not cutting branches that hide a subject, and leaving hides as clean as you found them.

Do that, and the habitat will still be there next season, along with the animals that made you fall in love with it.

Next: exposure terms in plain words →