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The
word ethics has been tossed around lately, as one of the buzzwords
of the latest era. It easily rolls off the tongue, is simple to
spell, and is a must-use when speaking about business.
An ethic is a philosophy or system of morals, and is as open to
individual interpretation as is each of us. So the understanding
that a person, company or business has ethics simply means that
they have decided upon a set of rules to live by, and subsequently
abides by it. Usually, but not necessarily, they are the rules
that the majority of one’s society agrees with and tries
to follow.
Today’s consumer has more choices than it ever has. Businesses
that provide product and services enter and exit the market on
a continually rotating basis. Those that manage to stay in business
for any length of time have found a balance between standing up
for what they believe, and treating the customer as a treasured
guest. Adopting both of these attitudes is an integral part of
that business’ ethics.
Corporations have been known to mention that being ethical is
good business. In fact, this is an oxymoron, for if ethics are
put into place because of the bottom line, then it follows that
they would be dropped if they do not add up to company profits.
Therefore, there is no morality involved here. Only if followed
when inconvenient, or even hazardous, can a set of standards truly
be called ethics.
And herein lies the dilemma for horse photographers.
Any industry that uses animals or people to its advantage is inherently
suspect of the practice of abuse. The equine industry is far from
exempt. Money, a very real energy in our society, is used to find
ways to justify actions that otherwise could not be.
Breed
organizations are often large corporations themselves and the
betterment of the breed tends in actuality, to be the net revenue
of the corporation. Racehorse mares are bred, year after year,
often pumping out inferior foals destined for destruction. Gaited
breeds are fraught with uncomfortable and sometimes painful gadgets
and techniques designed to force unnatural movement to please
the eye of humans. Some breeders still dock the draft breed’s
tails, dooming them to a lifetime of inability to use Nature’s
fly swatter and communication device.
Breeders often impregnate any horse with a uterus, paying little
attention to disposition, or even if the market needs yet another
horse. Every year, thousands of equines, from the huge majority
of foals from PMU farms, to the injured or not fast-enough racers,
and on to much loved ponies that were “outgrown” end
up in terror, pain and anguish, at the slaughterhouses, on their
final journey to a human’s plate.
Each
of these examples is born from unnecessary actions. Breeders can
tighten up their programs. Premarin can, in every case, be replaced
by synthetic or plant derived hormones. And every horse owner
can take responsibility for the final days of their animal’s
life and make certain it has a suitable home, or is humanely euthanized.
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I’ve
been told that, as photographers, we have no responsibility for
the atrocities that happen to our subjects. Yet, we hold the very
key to how the public perceives these events. It is we who capture
these sentient beings during all of their moments. And it is we
who decide which photos will represent the norm. Thus, it is we
who, in a large part, help build and maintain the norms of our
equine society.
Other considerations include submitting photos of children on
horseback, wearing no helmet. Again, by doing so, we are contributing
to the very real possibility that someone, or many, will become
brain injured or even die. We know that the slight bodies in fashion
magazines encourage young girls to stop eating; it is no different
with helmets or the lack thereof.
Do we also submit images of mares and/or foals, loose and wearing
halters? At one of the stables in which I boarded, a two week-old,
Standardbred filly lost her life when her halter was entangled
in very safe, board fencing. It happens all the time, yet when
horse owners see haltered, loose horses, consistently in magazines,
they shrug off the possible consequences.
A
code of ethics is a work in progress. Each person, each business,
develops their own standard. Life experience is a powerful mentor
that helps shape and mold one’s world view, and the ethics
that one is willing to live by.
Like
any decision of importance, this does not come easily. It is often
much easier to bypass that which one knows is right, as one travels
the path towards a large sum of money. Yet, this responsibility,
significant and perhaps even burdensome, is charged to all of
us, as equine photographers and as part of humanity. Ethics not
only governs which shoots we will or will not work, but also how
we treat each other within the profession. Separating business
and personal ethics is neither desirable nor even possible. How
we live our lives tends to govern how we run our businesses. When
in doubt, The Golden Rule always applies.
Our
continually evolving ethics must embody all areas of our lives,
including care and compassion towards animals, the altruism to
which we aspire, and the respect that we have for the environment
of our beleaguered planet. When this occurs, then our business
ethics, like a well-crafted piece in a jigsaw puzzle, simply drops
perfectly in place.
Diane
C. Nicholson
Twin
Heart Photo Productions
www.twinheartphoto.com
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Starving
horses, in a sparse pasture, are an easy ethical choice. This
photo was taken from across a road, while in hiding, by Diane
C. Nicholson.
