Photography and the Law (and more)

[Jonners]

Under a different thread recently I received some very helpful advice concerning photographing night-flying birds: "you really shouldn't be using flash for nightime shots of nocturnal flying/feeding/hunting species (save for captive birds which aren't reliant on their own skills).

The latest research suggests that doing so can severely impair the dark adaptation of birds such as Owls and Nightjars for as much as one hour, making it difficult (if not impossible) for the birds to hunt successfully during that period of time.

Such impairment, albeit temporary, can be catastrophic for birds with nestlings to feed - particularly at this time of year when the hours of darkness are at their minimum - and if the same bird is targeted repeatedly may prejudice the success of an entire brood

I hope you don't mind me pointing this out and I'm sorry to dampen your enthusiasm but, as with all wildlife photography, the wellbeing of the subject must always come first."

It made me realise that it can sometimes be "easy" to unwittingly overstep the boundaries of wildlife welfare or even the law. It also made me have a trawl around looking into the legalities of photographing birds and other wildlife. I am sure that there are others who might not know what the law says, but equally plenty of you who can share your knowledge for the benefit not only of this Forum, but of wildlife too.

The RSPB have or had a useful leaflet which I could not find on their website, but which I did find here.

I am aware that this subject has been covered to some degree before in other threads, like JeffH's excellent Kingfisher Diaries (see 27 march 2007 post), but thought it might be useful to have a single thread that could be used as a resource for members. So if you have any legal aspects of wildlife watching or photography that you think the WAB and wider community might benefit from, please air them here. Also, if there are even common sense things that you think others might not realise (like NOT using flash to photograph night flying birds), then please share them here too. Everything from birds to bats, from plants and fungi to reptiles and amphibians, from insects etc to mammals and even the countryside itself.

Thanks

PS Let's make this a helpful thread if we can, rather than one where we argue over points raised

[Wild-Woman]

Good points raised here Jonners and I'm certain the vast majority of WAB members practise their photography with the welfare of the species foremost.

[acherontia]

There are an awful lot of creatures that (strictly speaking) it is legally necessary to obtain a permit to photograph if you want to sell on - the Kingfisher is one of many - as is the natterjack toad.

That's quite a useful RSPB you found. Cheers!

Acher

[Jonners]

I've just come across this really useful website concerning Wildlife and the Law, at Naturenet. I haven't yet gone through it, but it looks fairly comprehensive, covering birds, bats, amphibians, plants, sites, rights of way to name but a few, right through to shooting, angling and even flytipping. It also has guidance and information on The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. If you want to know where you stand, it looks a pretty good and thorough place to start.