I was recently a panelist for the The Ethics of Subject Welfare at the 2008 North American Nature Photographers Association conference in Destin, Florida. Susan McElhinney, the highly respected photo editor for Ranger Rick children’s magazine, invited me to be on the panel. There was a great deal of information on several topics including how we treat indigenous cultures, endangered plants and natural areas as well as the perennial questions regarding the use of captive, wild animals in our photos.

There was healthy give and take on both sides of all the issues, but the use of captive animals was certainly the most heavily debated. At one point Mr. Tom Mangelsen offered his opinion and during his presentation he made several inaccurate comments of a personal nature about me specifically. I corrected those inaccuracies at the time and I’ve added more here. I also brought to the discussion information regarding his association with Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife/Vital Ground and Doug and Lynne Seus. Their web site states that, “The Seuses are well known throughout the country and in the film industry as two of the world’s foremost animal trainers and coaches.”

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