Hello Fellow Readers!!

How was your week? Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe.

Last week, we touched on the community’s view towards baiting, the use of calls and manipulating the surroundings.  This week, we’ll take a look at the responses for going “off trail”, why the community feels that certain practices are not right and whether technological improvements can reduce the reliance on these practices.

“Off Trail”

The data for the other practices has so far shown that the majority are against the practices listed in this blog. However, this data contradicts the rest as it shows that more than half of the respondents feel that going “off trail” is okay even though Going “off trail” in a nature reserve in Singapore carries a fine of up to S$2000. This might be due to the different laws that apply to different location. For instance, going off trail or picnicking in areas such as Chinese and Japanese Gardens is a common sight on a weekend, which is why 49.1% of the surveyees feel that it depends on the location.

Community’s view on why certain practices are not right

As a number of practices was being considered, more than one option can be selected for this question. The general concern with these practices revolves around the health of the wildlife, followed by the environment and inhumanity of live bait use. Out of the 55 respondents, there are 3 who feels that the practices listed does not have any negative effect. Based on this data, it is encouraging to see that most of the participants are concern about the well-being of the wildlife.

Technology

Last but not least, I was curious as to whether technological advancement will have any effect on the need to rely on these practices. In my mind, improvements to technology should reduce the need to reply on some of the practices. For instance, a more sensitive sensor would perform better in low light situations and hence reduce the need for a flash. To my surprise, around half of the participants feel that improvements to technology will not reduce the need to rely on these practices. Some practice have no link to having better equipment, such as manipulating the surroundings to create a better picture, hence any improvement in technology wouldn’t affect the need to rely on them.

So should we be concerned? Or we should ignore it? Does Singapore’s demography influences how these practices affect our wildlife compared to other countries? Next week, we’ll take an in depth look into one of the practice and also answer some of the question above. Before I end off, would just like to mention that the topic on wildlife photography ethics is an ongoing controversy. When this survey was sent to one of the photography group, a small dispute was started which eventually led to the admins removing my survey link. Hence, I would just like to reiterate that this blog is not meant to shame those who continue certain practice but to explore the effects of the different practice. Cheers!!