Even Scientists Take Selfies with Wild Animals. Here’s Why They Shouldn’t. One of the great things about being a biologist is getting to work in the field and connect with wildlife. Through my career, I have enjoyed many unforgettable close encounters with various species, including turtles, birds, marine mammals, invertebrates and a lot of fish, […]
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Tag: Ethics
Why The Habit Of Wanting To Own A Piece ...
Why the habit of wanting to own a piece of nature’s beauty needs to be broken When thinking about wildlife, what image first comes to mind? Elephants rubbing up against trees, or perhaps tigers stalking deer through the jungle? Unfortunately, humans’ love affair of wildlife is also associated with a darker side: the desire to […]
Never Fear to Ask —It Could Spare a Life
You see something that you don’t understand, or that concerns you… Should you ask? Is there such thing as a naive question? The answer is ‘Yes’ you should ask. And ‘No’ there are no naive questions when the welfare of animals is at stake. Dare to ask, and engage in a respectful discussion with the […]
The Gift of Being Wrong —How to Enjoy &
“The more you are willing to examine your own assumptions and beliefs—and holds the possibility that you may be wrong—the more you can truly understand” (from The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling) Being a naturalist basically means being on a quest for knowledge (and having fun while at it!). There is such wonder […]
The Ort Reports —Thwarting Food Waste a
“Ooh, ahh, the Ort Report, I said a-ooh, ahh, Ort Report, Shakey shakey shakey…” (Repeat twice, and don’t forget to swish your hands in the air during the jiggy part.) This song’s goal is simple: reminding us to just eat enough. Not so little that we are hungry still after a meal, but not so […]
Zoo-ing Out: A First in the Travel Indus...
In April 2017, Responsible Travel became the first travel company to stop promoting any holidays that included a visit to a zoo. Their reasons are centered around the education value of zoos, how much is spent on conservation efforts and what percentage of zoned animals are endangered. This is a very courageous decision from a […]
The Red Apes of Bukit —How Ethical is Or
The Red Apes of Bukit —How Ethical is Orangutan Tourism? After two days of flying across the world, we finally arrived! We were now a few miles away from where some of the last Sumatran orangutans are surviving. Maybe a mother and her infant were even peeping through the canopy across the river right when […]
Ecological Ethics A&A —From Awareness To
Ecological Ethics A&A—From Awareness To Action My friend and I engaged in a profound discussion about ethics. Our conversation delved into the inherent fascination of our species with a limitless growth model, evident in various facets such as our aspirations for biological immortality and the dynamics of modern economies and business practices. As I reflected […]
Eating Less Meat? It Matters & It’s Easy
If every person stopped eating meat and dairy for just one day a week, it would be the equivalent of removing 7.6 million cars from the road, or not driving 91 billion miles. That is incredible. Seems simple, right? Well the good news is that it truly is (simple)! And here I highlight why it matters […]
The Captivity Effects Denial Phenomenon
Our enthusiasm and indulgence for animal captivity is changing yet very slowly. But we can accelerate our pace because it can only be a win-win for science, for the animals, and for us as moral individuals… ‘Are zoo animals happy? There’s a simple empathy test we can apply is a very good piece of journalism on […]