Abstract
Abstract1. Camera trapping is a widely employed tool in wildlife research, used to estimate animal abundances, understand animal movement, assess species richness and understand animal behaviour. In addition to images of wild animals, research cameras often record human images, inadvertently capturing behaviours ranging from innocuous actions to potentially serious crimes.2. With the increasing use of camera traps, there is an urgent need to reflect on how researchers should deal with human images caught on cameras. On the one hand, it is important to respect the privacy of individuals caught on cameras, while, on the other hand, there is a larger public duty to report illegal activity. This creates ethical dilemmas for researchers.3. Here, based on our camera‐trap research on snow leopards Panthera uncia, we outline a general code of conduct to help improve the practice of camera trap based research and help researchers better navigate the ethical‐legal tightrope of this important research tool.
Highlights
Camera traps have become important tools for researchers, conservationists, and wildlife managers and are being used to study wildlife and urban ecology (Anton, Hartley, Geldenhuis, & Wittmer, 2018; O’Connell, Nichols, & Karanth, 2011)
Based on our camera-trap research on snow leopards Panthera uncia, we outline a general code of conduct to help improve the practice of camera trap based research and help researchers better navigate the ethical-legal tightrope of this important research tool
We suggest that the following concepts, a blend of ethical and pragmatic good practices, should be applied while conducting camera trap-based research: 1. Permission: Camera trapping must be undertaken only after obtaining all necessary permissions
Summary
Camera traps have become important tools for researchers, conservationists, and wildlife managers and are being used to study wildlife and urban ecology (Anton, Hartley, Geldenhuis, & Wittmer, 2018; O’Connell, Nichols, & Karanth, 2011). Our cameras have, in addition to snow leopards and other animals, captured images of local community members, suspected poachers or trespassers This has created ethical dilemmas for us in terms of whether or not and how such images recorded on camera traps could be used for assisting law enforcement and preventing poaching. Camera trap based research efforts have the potential to cause further injustices and risk overstepping ethical boundaries. It risks jeopardizing delicate relationships built on trust and transparency between various societal groups, including conservationists, local communities and law enforcement agencies.
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