I think it might perhaps be helpful to try to categorize countries by the risk
of crime against
birders. It's very difficult to judge the danger from reading press reports,
since stories about crime
don't distinguish between the crime that is unlikely to affect birders and
crime that might. For
example, Brazil is quite a safe country for birders, despite having the second
highest murder rate
in South America after Colombia, and despite the fact that dude tourists
sometimes are mugged in
touristy places that birders tend to avoid, such as downtown Foz do Iguacu. On
the other hand,
many ecotourists have been the victims of crime in Costa Rica and Ecuador,
which tend to receive
more favorable press coverage than Brazil. Reports out of Indonesia might lead
one to believe
that a visitor would be subject to great danger of assault, but Indonesia is
one of the safest tropical
countries in which to go birding. On the other hand, neighboring Papua New
Guinea is one of the
most dangerous.
Without any statistics at hand, I have compiled an incomplete list, which is
submitted here for
comment:
High risk of crime against birders:
Colombia
Peru
Nigeria
Liberia
Sierra Leone
Kenya
South Africa
Angola
Mozambique
Congo (ex-Belgian Congo)
Algeria
(and undoubtedly other African countries)
Papua New Guinea
Russia
Somewhat dangerous:
Mexico
Belize
Guatemala
Costa Rica
Ecuador
Chile
Uganda
Ivory Coast
Cameroon
Zimbabwe
Nepal
Turkey
Reasonably safe (if New York City and Miami are considered "reasonably safe"):
Brazil
Argentina
Paraguay
Uruguay
Indonesia
Malaysia
Brunei
Thailand
China
France
Belgium
Italy
Safer than home (New York City):
Canada
England
Netherlands
Denmark
Norway
Sweden
Finland
Germany
Switzerland
Poland
Austria
Iceland
Taiwan
Japan
Singapore
Australia
New Zealand
John Wall
Scarsdale, New York
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