Ethics & Authenticity

Our visual content authentically represents the realities faced by animals in various spheres of human influence.

We document the raw and unfiltered experiences of sentient beings, offering an unvarnished glimpse into their lives while conveying a deep respect for the subjects depicted and acknowledging their inherent worth and agency. Our visuals foster empathy, understanding, and meaningful dialogue on the urgent issue of animal exploitation.

Our commitment to content authenticity extends beyond documenting these important stories. Our global team of animal photojournalists adhere to ethical principles and rigorous journalistic standards, ensuring we maintain the integrity and credibility of our visual storytelling. These standards include:

We Animals’ field teams assess the ethical implications of the assignment to ensure that activities align with our commitment to compassionate and responsible storytelling:

• Non-Manipulation: We refrain from manipulating animals or their environment to capture a desired shot. We do not stage scenes or coerce animals into unnatural behaviours—or ask others to do so—as this can distort the authenticity of the narrative.
• Authentic Representation: We present the realities of human-animal interactions truthfully and without embellishment. We avoid shooting in a manner that misrepresents the circumstances or the experience of the animals, maintaining transparency and honesty in visual storytelling.
• Respect for Subjects: We treat animals with respect and dignity, acknowledging their autonomy and intrinsic value. We exercise empathy and sensitivity when documenting sensitive or distressing situations, prioritizing the well-being of the animals involved.
• Policies & Protocols: Our animal photojournalists abide by policies and protocols established to ensure their safety, the safety of those we work with, and that of the subjects we photograph, including our biosecurity protocol, anti-harassment policy and our Living our Values guidelines.

Our commitment to upholding the integrity of Animal Photojournalism extends to the digital darkroom where our approach emphasizes transparency, authenticity, and respect for the truthfulness of the narrative.

• Chain of Custody: We maintain a rigorous chain of custody on raw files from every investigation to ensure their originality and integrity. By preserving the source material, we uphold transparency and accountability in our visual storytelling practices.
• Non-Manipulation: We do not digitally manipulate images to add or remove elements, period. We refrain from any form of digital manipulation that distorts the truthfulness of the narrative. (See also Policy on Blurring Faces)
• No AI: We do not utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to create or augment existing visual content.
• Commitment to Accuracy: While we may edit images to enhance clarity, composition, and visual impact, we do so judiciously and with the utmost respect for accuracy.

We catalogue visuals in our collection with the end-user in mind to facilitate access and promote discovery. We do this through our:

• Controlled Vocabulary: We recognize that commonly used vocabulary helps users find and access visuals. However, we acknowledge that some terms are inherently biased and we will approach them critically and advocate for making cataloguing more inclusive.
  • We acknowledge that we bring our biases to the workplace; therefore we strive to overcome personal, institutional, and societal prejudices in our work.
  • We use keywords that are accurate, relevant and consistent across our visuals.
  • We avoid jargon.
• Rigorous Reporting. We fact-check and verify statements made in captions and long descriptions to ensure accuracy and consistency in what we report.
• Respect for Subjects: We strive to describe the subjects we photograph in a way that respects and acknowledges their autonomy and intrinsic value.
  • We use “he”, “she” and “they” pronouns instead of “it” for non-human animals.
  • We describe people without discrimination and respect the privacy of those included in the visuals if they are documented in a location where privacy is expected.

By diligently following these processes, we can ensure that the content we commission and the content we license from third parties upholds the principles of authenticity, accuracy, and ethical integrity, thereby reinforcing our commitment to responsible Animal Photojournalism.