# Discourage and report illegal practices **URL:** \ **Category:** Feature Requests\ **Created:** [September 22, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/discourage-and-report-illegal-practices/26576 "2021-09-22T14:44:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 5
**Author:** ![cthawley](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/cthawley/32/1445_2.png) [@cthawley](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/cthawley)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/discourage-and-report-illegal-practices/26576/5 "2021-09-22T15:21:00Z")
Agreed, most people will not be aware that they are doing this. There are some obvious exceptions (please don’t try to ride sea turtles, etc), but I think scaring people with legal consequences isn’t likely to have a strong beneficial impact. Gentle education will probably get the best response. Many people are even well meaning while doing “stupid” things…can’t tell you how many people chase seals back into the ocean when seals are hauled out to bask or injured and taking a rest. Harassing a marine mammal is a violation of the MMPA in the US, but these people are trying to help a seal they think is confused (not intentionally breaking the law). Most folks are oblivious of wildlife laws, so educating will help a lot! If they know a better way to help the seal (ie, leave it alone!), they will do so. It’s not an easy solution, but I think iNat can be viewed as a net positive here. I would guess that a lot of these interactions would have happened even without iNat - having them posted on iNat then provides a chance to educate and improve behavior in the future that wouldn’t have existed without it. --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/discourage-and-report-illegal-practices/26576)._