The International Union for Conservation of Nature recommends that photographs, like this one, show a clear barrier and a safe distance between primates and people.
GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP via Getty Images
By Bridget Alex
The global wildlife protection authority wants scientists to stop hugging monkeys on Instagram, holding hands with orangutans in movies and hanging around with chimpanzees in advertising photos. In a new set of guidelines launched last week, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) asked scientists, students, conservationists and caretakers to stop publishing images that depict themselves in close contact with non-human primates.
For years, conservationists have campaigned against movies, ads and social media posts that portray primates as attractive pets. “There is a causal link between how primates are portrayed and whether they survive like wild animals, or [whether] people do terrible things and try to turn them into pets, ”says Duke University anthropologist Brian Hare, who did not work on the guidelines, but considered them to be welcome and“ necessary ”.
Primatologist Siân Waters, from Durham University, and others were frustrated with colleagues posing with their study subjects on book covers, in research lectures and on social networks. About 2 years ago, they founded a group within IUCN, the Section of the Primate Specialist Group for Human-Primate Interactions. Among the first items on the agenda: establish best practice guidelines for photographs or videos of non-human primates.
To do this, they first reviewed experiments by Hare and others that demonstrated the damage caused by certain types of primate images. For example, people who watched commercials with chimpanzees in human environments, such as an office, were more likely to think that chimpanzees are good pets and were less concerned about their conservation status. Other studies have documented correlations with the real world: after videos of people playing with primates went viral, there was an increase in social media posts from users who want their own primate pets.
Especially on social media, these images can spread quickly without context, feeding the public’s misconceptions that primates are pets, playmates and photographic props. When people see experts touching primates, they also want to get closer to them, say the authors of the guidelines. This is dangerous for people, who may be bitten, injured or infected. It is also “a significant threat to primate survival,” says Hare.
By the latest counts, about 60% of primate species are threatened with extinction, including most lemurs and all great apes – chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. After habitat loss, poaching is a major cause of the decline in the number of primates. The United Nations estimated in 2013 that the illegal trade causes almost 3,000 deaths of great apes a year, or about 1% of its total population.
“Maybe 30, 40 years ago, a primatologist would think it was really cool to have a photo taken with his object of study,” said group member Janette Wallis, director of the Kasokwa-Kityedo Forestry Project. “Today, we don’t think this is cool. It is one of those things where time teaches us about what is safe, what is important, what is responsible. “
The new guidelines suggest that the photographs include a clear physical barrier or at least 7 meters between people and primates. Humans should not be shown cradling, feeding with their hands or playing with animals. In addition, photos must include scientific equipment, such as face masks, binoculars and notepads to communicate the professional nature of primate research and care. And the list asks “high-level” people, who have already posed at close meetings, to make public statements explaining why their old images are unethical.
The Jane Goodall Institute adopted similar guidelines last year and has since tried to eliminate or add disclaimers to photos taken decades ago that show Goodall close to chimpanzees. “Over the course of 6 decades, our thinking has evolved,” says Shawn Sweeney, associate vice president of communications and policy at the institute. “We don’t want to continue normalizing that there is no problem in contacting these animals.” He adds that he and his colleagues are happy to see the issue being addressed in an international forum.
But that can pose a problem for sanctuaries and other nonprofits that rely on public donations. There are more than 100 primate sanctuaries worldwide; many obtain most of their revenue from contributions, gifts and grants. Their promotional videos and photos usually show orphaned primates being rescued and rehabilitated by the team. These evocative images are a “double-edged sword” for conservation, says Hare. It tends to attract donors, which organizations need to protect primates in the wild and care for those already in rescue sanctuaries. But it also leads people to think that primates are suitable pets.
Even if some organizations are slow to adopt the guidelines, they should make individual researchers and caregivers think twice about their own social media, says Marni LaFleur, a primatologist at the University of California, San Diego, who contributed to the new rules. “I really hope that people value the welfare of these animals more than they value receiving ‘likes’.”