Close to where I live, little owls breed (Athena noctua). Although their status is of the least concern worldwide, their numbers are declining rapidly here in the UK, probably because of intensive farming methods and the shocking loss of invertebrates and small mammals on which they feed. Just 7% of Britain’s native woodlands, where they live, are in good condition ecologically. It’s not the photographers’ fault that they are disappearing.
They live on inaccessible private land. Consequently, wildlife photographers entice them by baiting them with mealworms on a boundary fence post. This might seem harmless. After all, they are feeding the birds. However, the fence post is by a road, which increases the risk of the owls being hit by a vehicle; one of them has been. Furthermore, the post is also in the open, making these tiny birds more likely to be predated. As the owls regularly visit the same spot to get food, so too will the bigger hunters that will see the tiny owls as easy meals.
I also always think of Mao and the sparrows. Four Pests Campaign I was going to post some quotes, but after reading them, I decided not to. I’ll simplify it into saying one of the things they did was to purposefully make noise and just disturb the birds in general so they couldn’t rest or eat. About 4 million sparrows were killed. The end result of that misguided effort was a famine that killed 20-30 million people, so it worked out for either side.
Birds live in a very delicate balance. They’ve given up many physical advantages we take for granted to be able to fly. As long as the balance is kept, they do fine. But when their life revolves around flight, and they can no longer maintain the energy needed to fly, they are done for. Energy needs are so high for them.
Found an article about ethical animal photography and how harmless activities can hurt or get animals killed. Here is an owl story from it:
I also always think of Mao and the sparrows. Four Pests Campaign I was going to post some quotes, but after reading them, I decided not to. I’ll simplify it into saying one of the things they did was to purposefully make noise and just disturb the birds in general so they couldn’t rest or eat. About 4 million sparrows were killed. The end result of that misguided effort was a famine that killed 20-30 million people, so it worked out for either side.
Birds live in a very delicate balance. They’ve given up many physical advantages we take for granted to be able to fly. As long as the balance is kept, they do fine. But when their life revolves around flight, and they can no longer maintain the energy needed to fly, they are done for. Energy needs are so high for them.