Conservation and people: towards an ethical code of conduct for the use of camera traps in wildlife research

Sharma, Koustubh; Fiechter, Matthias; George, Todd; Young, Juliette; Alexander, Justine Shanti; Bijoor, Ajay; Suryawanshi, Kulbhushansingh; Mishra, Charudutt. 2020 Conservation and people: towards an ethical code of conduct for the use of camera traps in wildlife research. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 1 (2), e12033. 6, pp. 10.1002/2688-8319.12033

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12033

Abstract/Summary

1. 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.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1002/2688-8319.12033
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	2688-8319
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	camera trap, code of conduct, ethics, human rights, law, PARTNERS principles for community based conservation, privacy, snow leopard
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	01 Dec 2020 15:51 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/529062

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1002/2688-8319.12033

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

2688-8319

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

camera trap, code of conduct, ethics, human rights, law, PARTNERS principles for community based conservation, privacy, snow leopard