Fellow birders.
Of course, the earth was created for our pleasure and
everything in and on it is here to entertain us.
We are superior and able to devise clever things that affect these
creatures; if something enhances our enjoyment, what else matters?
It is of little concern to us that our calling them may expose them
to predation, tire them or otherwise interfere with their lives. Who cares?
If a bird is killed in the forest, it is not real unless we see
it. And, if we see it, that is of interest to us and therefore it
is as it should be.
Animals may readily be used for experimentation of various sorts to
benefit us. We may take specimens and study their dead bodies.
After all, any suffering is theirs, not ours. They are not as real as we are.
We will continue to entertain ourselves, read our magazines,
gather their calls so that once they are extinct, we can still amuse
ourselves by seeing photos and hearing their sounds.
Let the chips, creatures, etc. fall where they may. We can
think of endless reasons to justify our actions. It's all about us.
-----------------------------------------
Anthropocentrism is the Achilles' heel of our species and may well
seal our own fate. However, we will probably still be congratulating
ourselves as we step into the void.
Regi
At 11:39 AM 4/8/2012, Marie P Read wrote:
>My 2 cents worth,
>
>And using playbacks is now used by bird photographers everywhere to
>entice in birds, especially the small hard-to-see ones such as
>warblers. I am somewhat hypocritical here, because I do use this
>technique myself on occasion, but what has happened in bird
>photography is that EVERYONE can now do it, and EVERYONE does in
>fact do it. It's raised the bar all over, but this means that more
>and more birds are being harassed because everyone wants those
>pretty, close-up warbler images. One appalling example is the
>several well-known Barred Owl spots in Florida where the owls get
>bugged over and over again by photographers to get flight shots. One
>might argue (not my argument) that a few well-known owls being the
>subject of annoyance is better that a lot of owls being bugged
>everywhere. One could debate this whole issue at length and never
>get consensus....same with the owl-baiting discussions. It's out
>there...it will not go away.
>
>Anyway, in the long term while using playbacks as a matter of course
>is unfortunate, in my opinion, it will not go away at this point in time.
>
>Marie
>
>Marie Read Wildlife Photography
>452 Ringwood Road
>Freeville NY 13068 USA
>
>Phone 607-539-6608
>e-mail m...@cornell.edu
>
>http://www.marieread.com
>
>Now on FaceBook
>https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Read-Wildlife-Photography/104356136271727
>________________________________________
>From: bounce-46014034-5851...@list.cornell.edu
>[bounce-46014034-5851...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of John and Sue
>Gregoire [k...@empacc.net]
>Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2012 9:36 AM
>To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
>Cc: KHAMOLISTSERV
>Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Has birding ethics changed?
>
>Perhaps I misunderstand the CayugaBirds posts of late but in the
>last couple of
>years I have seen many references to birders using electronic calls
>to enhance their
>personal or group birding experience.
>
>It used to be a condemned practice and very strictly limited to
>research, and then
>light usage only, as well as a part of the ABA Birding Code of
>Ethics. I thought
>that perhaps these posts were new birders who hadn't been taught the
>ethical code
>but now I see the use of calls somewhat codified by its use in SFO trips.
>
>While the proliferation of electronic devices may make this easier,
>I don't see the
>need or the justification.
>
>Comments appreciated.
>John
>
>
>--
>John and Sue Gregoire
>Field Ornithologists
>Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory
>5373 Fitzgerald Road
>Burdett,NY 14818-9626
> Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/
>"Conserve and Create Habitat"
>
>
>
>
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