Very interesting thread Attila and I enjoyed reading through it. I've been into photography for a long time (forty years) and more recently (the last two or three years) gotten excited with bird photography and birding itself as well.....have some nice bins & often go birding without a camera. I'm still working through the whole issue re baiting and at the present time don't have strong feelings one way or another, however threads like this make one think, and that's good. I noticed the ABA code of ethics posted on this forum doesn't expressly prohibit baiting and one could argue it allows for limited baiting when referring to the use of calls, and other means, of attracting birds. The issue of baiting is fundamentally an ethical one and consistency in ethics is IMO essential....so if baiting of birds is considered wrong, to be consistent, is fishing also wrong? Some of our favourite family times with the kids is spent at the end of the dock at the cottage catching the rock bass & perch that live below (and releasing them all to be caught again the next time). I've never felt guilty fishing so have a hard time thinking that those who bait 'responsibly' are doing something fundamentally wrong, however perhaps I'm not connecting the dots properly.
I'm new around here and greatly appreciate this forum. I also appreciate your petition Attila and wholeheartedly agree that we shouldn't harm the birds we enjoy so much, whether observing or photographing them.
