Or do you suspect cruelty in some cases, e.g. staging predation to make filming easier? I guess I’m a bit cynical about it because of the perverse incentives of the media. So if a film company self-reports ethicality, I’m not going to take them at their word. There is one opinion piece about it by…

One of my friends who works as a herpetologist once told me that no shot of a snake in a documentary film is ever authentic and unstaged. He said almost all of them have had a black bucket over them to blind them in sudden light when it’s removed, so that they stay still. He also said that the prey…

The predation between invertebrates must be staged. The whole thing is often in a vivarium or aquarium so the prey must have been put in there. I don’t know whether that is unethical. Considering the billions of aphids that are killed by pesticides in the wider environment, I can’t get uptight about…

[image] mftasp: He also said that the prey you see raptors swooping down to catch can sometimes have their eyelids superglued shut. Hell of a thing to claim without evidence, a specific documented case, or a reputable source :thinking: Considering this is an ethics discussion, perhaps it woul…

[image] screedius: Hell of a thing to claim without evidence Geez, who woke on the wrong side of the bed? This is not a peer-reviewed publication, and I am repeating what I was told by someone I consider a reliable source. I am most certainly not going to pretend I haven’t heard it just to ma…

James had a good take on it in another thread: [image] Happy 99th Sir David! Some nature faking is part of any nature show. Just don’t do it on iNat.

[image] jhbratton: Considering the billions of aphids that are killed by pesticides in the wider environment, I can’t get uptight about a few being placed where a camera can show a ladybird eating them. Not to mention feeder crickets, mealworms, etc. in the pet trade.

Pardon me if I came off a bit blunt, it’s nothing personal. But please remember this forum is for nature discussions, not rumor-mongering. You don’t have to pretend you didn’t hear it, but you don’t have to share it either. This is a pretty sticky topic by its nature, already. I could see discussion…

To me, your first post @screedius did come off as a bit of a criticism of another user. The forum guidelines ask us to: Criticize ideas and opinions, not people. If you think that hearsay is a problem, it’s fine to write a general post about it. However, much of the forum content is hearsay to som…

[image] cthawley: To me, your first post @screedius did come off as a bit of a criticism of another user. With all due respect, I did not say anything about another user. I took issue with the statement that a documentarian would glue the eyes of an animal shut to prevent it from escaping a s…

[image] screedius: it doesn’t hurt to think about what you say before you post it. Saying this implys critisism, no?

These days, are major wildlife documentary makers e.g. BBC known to be ethical?

Nature Talk

AdamWargon May 27, 2025, 6:55pm 6

James had a good take on it in another thread:

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These days, are major wildlife documentary makers e.g. BBC known to be ethical?

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