Several years ago I had to, at the last moment as the person initially involved had to pull out, fill in the application for the permit to run the bird banding trip to Iron Range on Cape York Peninsula. The form was,
to put it politely, a bloody nightmare. After going through all the documentation I discovered that it was actually illegal to birdwatch in Queensland and you could be prosecuted for “harassing wildlife”. An example of “harassing “ was if you were looking
at a bird on (say) the left hand side of a tree and it flew to the right hand side and you followed it, you were considered to be “harassing” the bird. I promptly rang the QLD NPWS or whoever it was at the time and pointed this out. Needless to say this was
not the intended result of their legislation and I think the entire permit application’s wording was changed not too long after. In the end the original person involved in obtaining the permit was able to organise it in the nick of time.
People used to wonder why I hated bureaucracy – and to a point still do!!
Mark
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Sent: Friday, 5 January 2024 6:10 PM
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Subject: [Canberrabirds] Birding philosophy
I pose the following query: if its unethical to disturb birds when seeking to (example) observe them or grab a photo, is it also unethical to rescue them, as this too could be argued as interrupting (eg its life cycle, a food source for
other species, etc).
Yes, there will be many meaningful reasons to help. And many will simply state that it depends on the situation. But if so, are we applying this across the board or only if it aligns with our own preferences and understanding.
So, ask ... where do we draw the line of what is ethical birding and unethical disruption? On what grounds is the line to be defined? How might we approach resolving it? And for whose benefit are we motivated?
As I said, this is a philosophical query. But nonetheless one which, when posed, may offer insight into our own awareness and decision-making. Both as individual birders and as a community.
Hope to bump into you out in the great outdoors
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