A beautiful picture in a magazine, of a bird feeding its nestlings in a cosy, padded nest, caught my eye. It was enticing and it stirred up my maternal instincts. But it also stirred my conscience. A strategically focused camera had obviously captured the rare shot. Needless to say, I definitely wouldn’t want my private moments to be photographed indiscriminately; and there are laws to protect me from it. Animals are photographed in moments that we sanctimoniously hold as our private spaces — when in labour or giving birth, nesting and feeding the young, mating, in the final moments of life, or just relaxing in a quiet spot.
The world of animals, whose temporal range we have related to our own, has filled our passion, pastime, curiosity and even therapeutic needs. A day out in nature with your camera can fill you with sublimity and relaxation. We almost seem to claim ownership of animal images in all aspects of their lives. Animals are fair game for filmmakers. Allegorical fables and parables that are animal-themed have delighted us with their human equation.
The world of science has observed, recorded, analysed, documented and classified all aspects of animal life, and today, technology has empowered this with drones, GPS collars, hidden cameras, and digital recording. Physiology, migration patterns, paternal and maternal roles, predatory acts, survival skills, dietary preferences are just a few of the long-drawn-out register of the world of animals that have been scientifically researched. This has in definitive ways led to the preservation and protection of their ecosystem and has spawned the need to safeguard their natural habitats such as forests and wetlands. We have woken up to the fact that in their survival lies ours too.
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But the time has come to ask ourselves whether, in this quest, moral and ethical thresholds have been crossed. Something is clear to us. Animals have a personhood too. They feel pain, pleasure, love, fear and loneliness. The animals we watch are also making a life on this planet. Animals need empathy and concurrently privacy. Logically considered, it is a natural law.
Today, as humans become more and more protective of their own privacy, ethical discussions on the protection of animal privacy have commenced in social and academic circles. Awareness is spreading far and wide. The intrusion into every aspect of animal life needs to be regulated. A culture of compassion and reverence for animals has become more widespread than ever before and more so with our children who bond with animals in an unaffected way.
Can this undercurrent of awareness spawn a movement that will lead to the ratification of privacy laws for animals? I will leave you with that sombre reflection or enticing thought!
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