What can be done about entries with photos that display both unethical and illegal activities?
Hi oreganus,
This came up in a recent thread:
if you think something illegal has occurred, the best thing to do is contact a local authority; iNat cannot enforce local laws
Probably depends on what is meant by “unethical”. For illegal activities, the two replies above pretty much cover it. For “unethical” activities, different folks have different ethics, and it’s important to remember that what may bother one person may be acceptable to others. For example, I post a lot of pinned moth specimens, but some people find collecting of insect specimens to be unethical. Some folks post their catches when they’re out fishing, although some users on the forum have expressed disgust at the practice of catching fish with hooks. Lots of hunters use iNat and post their legally harvested animals, which some other users find morally abhorrent. In all three of these instances, no laws or website guidelines are being violated though, so it’s up to the users who have a problem with these things to use filters to avoid seeing them.
I personally find it horrific when people post harmless snakes that they’ve killed out of fear, but being aggressive on such posts and calling the users murderers is not going to be productive in changing their behavior, so when I see them, I just add an ID and maybe comment something about the snake being harmless to humans. Education is the only way someone will come to appreciate their local snakes, and if they’ve come to iNat to ask about one they’ve killed, they’re at least open to learning.
I suppose there’s a line beyond which a post is actually in violation of community guidelines (it would be hard to defend an image of someone literally torturing kittens, for example), but most of the posts which elicit ethical concerns on the forum are perfectly allowable, despite not being what most users would like to see.
We’re asked not to share specific posts on the forum, but if you have a specific ethical concern that you’re seeing violated, sharing that concern might allow for a more precise response.
It would be useful perhaps to have more specific information.
In Aotearoa it’s illegal to pick psilocybe mushrooms. There’s no discrimination in the law between someone picking a mushroom to photograph it or to consume it. Picking a mushroom is considered preparation and possession of a Class A substance. Theoretically picking psilocybe mushrooms to photograph them could land a person a $1,000 fine or 6 months in prison. Although, realistically I don’t think the police would waste their time unless the account was called something like “Psilocybe Mushroom Locations by John James Smith” and they exclusively uploaded mushroom observations with the explicit intent of teaching others how to find them.
Appreciate the heads-up on this, as I unknowingly posted a shroom subsequently IDed as Psilocybe.
I agree very strongly here. If I see someone has killed a venomous snake, I’ll explain in neutral language and cite evidence as to why it’s often more dangerous to try and kill a snake than to let it be. And I’ll link to resources that explain how to make your property less snake-friendly, to prevent these kind of encounters. Does this always work? Maybe not, but even if the observer’s mind isn’t changed, at least anyone seeing the observation will see perspective and resources I’ve shared. Shaming or name calling, however, will almost certainly not change anyone’s mind.
Should I not post pictures of fish I catch? Or maybe just the native ones? I got a comment once that made me feel bad and i’ve been thinking about if it is helpful or not. I post the minnows and redhorse for ID but i’ve stopped posting any gamefish I can id.
If you have a valid fishing license, employ legal fishing gear and you catch fish at a time and place where fishing is permitted, there is no problem with posting photos of your catch. Don’t let one negative comment deter you.