Wildlife Filmmaking Ethics

Science and wildlife documentary filmmakers have a great deal of public responsibility. Much of what the public knows about the natural world comes from the films we make. If we explain the aerial acrobats of the Great White Shark, the mating behavior of Paradise birds, or the burrowing habits of the pygmy Armadillo, people should trust that what we're telling them is true. After all, this knowledge gets passed through the general public.

The responsibility filmmakers have lies in two fundamental areas. The first is the accuracy with which we share the science and natural history stories. The second is in how we interact with the animals while we're in the field. I'd like to touch on both topics here, so as to further explain the ethical role we have as filmmakers. 

Telling a Truthful Story 

Science and wildlife filmmaking is about telling stories. Filmmakers must ask themselves if there is a line of truth and a line of fiction they should not cross when making these films. I would guess that every filmmaker at first would say you shouldn't fake a story, for any reason. While most people know they can't believe everything they see in the movies or in fictional television programming, we don't want to get to the point where people say, "Oh, you can't believe everything you see in natural history programming."

A few years back, the filmmakers of Man vs. Wild got themselves into a bit of trouble. Here you have a show that played on a science documentary channel, Discovery. Because of it's venue, and the style it was shot, the public assumes what the show says is real and truthful. Yet, the show claimed to be a two man crew following Bear Grylls as he was trying to rescue himself in the wild, which proved to be a false statement. People were outraged when they found out that the crew actually spend a few weeks shooting the "3-day survival trip" and that the 2 person camera team actually consists of closer to a dozen people, all staying in nice hotels at the end of the day. After this was leaked to the public though, the show remained on the air with only a small disclaimer at the beginning of the show claiming that not everything was real.

One of our crew, Hazen Audel, accompanied the Man vs Wild crew to Ecuador as their survival expert. He told us of one particular shoot where they wanted to hunt piranha. He fished a bunch of piranha from the river and then put them into a small backwater pool. Then Hazen fashioned a bow for Bear Grylls to use. Unfortunately Bear couldn't shoot the arrows well enough to catch a piranha, so they had Hazen shoot the piranha, then throw Bear the bow as the camera panned up.  You can see the whole sequence here. Is what Man vs Wild does, ok? Are they breaking any fundamental ethical rules in Documentary filmmaking? Man vs Wild isn't the only story of bending the truth though. 

The BBC series Walking with Dinosaurs, was a ground-breaking show that took the technology of Jurassic park and put a natural history story to dinosaurs. Unlike other shows that talked about how dinosaurs might have behaved in the wild, this show told you exactly what they were like. They used high-tech computer to recreate the life of dinosaurs from birth to death. They didn't have a problem making up facts in order to tell the story. Yet, we could argue that people already know dinosaur stories must have some level of fiction in them. If you're able to watch the making-of documentary, you'll get a better picture of the science of what went into the making of the film. Yet, there are circumstances where filmmakers have taken advantage of our trust in films about wildlife that actually exist on Earth today.

In 1958 Disney produced a wildlife documentary about the Arctic with a famous scene of the mass suicide of lemmings. We've all probably heard of these mass suicides, where lemming populations increase dramatically, only to run out of food and forcing them to commit mass suicide into the ocean. We even saw it for the first time in the film.  The only problem with the whole scenario, is that it doesn't actually happen. The filmmakers for the show, hired a bunch of kids to collect Canadian lemmings. They then shot pushed them off the cliff. The shot was fantastic and what a great story. Yet, to this day, people still believe that happens in the wild. 

Treating the Animals Right

Telling animal stories in nature is innately difficult. Shooting a film on Wolves for example is tricky given the fact that most people will never see a wild wolf. Now imagine trying to tell the story with a 70 pound IMAX camera, whose sound upon recording makes all your effort stalking the canines worthless. Filmmakers have often gotten past these problems by using tame wolves- rent-a-wolves if you like. You can train a pack of wolves to perform on Que., something that an expensive film shoot demands. So is this wrong? In this case, I would say that it really depends on the narration of the film. If the film claims the wolves are wild, then yes. However, if the film is about the natural history of the wolf and the narration craftily avoids eluding the the wild nature of the wolves, it's perfectly fine. It allows audiences to see how wolves behave, and earn an appreciation for their beauty. In many ways we'd argue that this protects wild wolves more. 

The extreme case of animal ethics deals with physical harm to an individual. Under no circumstances should filmmakers put animals in physical danger, simply for a shot. In one circumstance, we heard about a group of filmmakers that pulled an exhausted wildebeest out of a mud pit so as to film the kill by waiting lions. We've even seen a film about Hawaii where they tied down a pig to get the shot as they panned through the forest. Even Bear Grylls, in Man vs Wild has been accused of animal cruelty as he kills and eats wild animals on the show. Filmmakers must avoid all acts of animal cruelty when making wildlife documentaries. 

Ethical Code of Conduct

Fortunately, there are certain codes that organizations like the BBC and Filmmakers for Conservation have instated for wildlife filmmakers working on their films. We fully support these codes and would love to showcase them here. The following code of ethics is from the filmmakers for conservation website:

PRINCIPLES

1. Always place the welfare of the subject above all else.

2. Ensure that your subjects are not caused any physical harm, anxiety, consequential predation or lessened reproductive success by your activities.

3. Don’t do anything that will permanently alter the natural behaviour of your subject. Be aware that habituation, baiting, and feeding may place your subjects at risk and may be lethal.

4. It is unacceptable to restrict or restrain an animal by any means to attract a predator.

5. Subjects should never be drugged or restrained in order to alter their behaviour for the sole purpose of filming.

6. Be aware of and follow all local and national laws regarding wildlife where you are filming.

7. Be courteous to your contributors (give appropriate credit where it is due). Whenever possible give copies of the finished program, a copy of a long edit of an appropriate scene, and/or publicity photographs to the people who helped you.

8. Images or script that give an audience abnormal, false or misleading information about a subject or its behavior should be avoided.

9. Always research your subject prior to filming.

GUIDELINES FOR WORKING IN THE FIELD

Restore all sites to their original state before you leave (for example: tie back rather than cut vegetation).

Be aware and take precautions, as some species will permanently quit a site just because of your odour.

Keep film, video equipment, and crewmembers at a distance sufficient to avoid site or subject disturbance.

Night shooting with artificial lights can require precautions to avoid making the subject vulnerable to predation.

Be prepared to meet unexpected conditions without damaging the environment or subject. Be especially prepared and deal with any people attracted by your activities as they could put the subject at risk.

Be aware that filming a den or nest site could attract predators.

The use of tame or captive animals should be acknowledged. If using tame or captive animals:

a. Ensure the subject receives proper care.

b. The subject’s trainer or custodian should always be present during filming.