Field & Game Australia Media Guidelines

These Best Practice Media Guidelines are designed to support our members, branches, and contributing partners in creating and sharing content that accurately reflects our commitment to sustainable hunting, wetland conservation, and responsible firearm use.

By following these guidelines, we ensure that all media—whether photos, videos, social posts, or press coverage—upholds the integrity of our organisation, respects community standards, and reinforces the values we stand for.

Purpose: To ensure all media created and published by and associated with Field & Game Australia (FGA) reflects world’s best practice in ethical hunting, wetland conservation, and public engagement.

Field & Game Australia exists to promote, protect, and pass on a tradition of ethical hunting, wetland stewardship, and community service. As hunters, we do not shy away from the reality that animals die—but we also do not celebrate that death in a way that disrespects wildlife or alienates others who may not be familiar with hunting. Our images should reflect the purpose behind what we do: responsible harvest, conservation through action, and pride in ethical conduct.

These guidelines are not about hiding the truth of hunting. They are about presenting it well—in a way that maintains trust, builds support for our cause, and honours both the animal and the community involved. The images we publish become the face of Field & Game Australia. They must reflect our values: legality, respect, professionalism, and care.

We have nothing to hide, and everything to be proud of. But with that pride comes a responsibility to lead by example—and that includes how we show what we do to the world.

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1. ETHICAL REPRESENTATION OF HUNTING

Respect for Wildlife:

· Depict all animals, alive or deceased, with dignity. Avoid images showing suffering, distress, or disrespect.

· Do not show entrails, visible wounds, blood pooling, or carcasses in a disfigured state. Limited incidental blood may be tolerated.

No Trophy Mentality:

· Do not use images of large piles of dead animals.

· Avoid “grip and grin” or triumphant poses with dead animals. Hunters should appear respectful and composed.

· Do not display animals held up by wings, feet, or neck. Always lay animals out neatly.

Legal & Appropriate Species:

· All animals shown must be legal game species at the time and place the image was taken.

· Avoid ambiguous species— For example, a Blue-winged Shoveler may only be shown if it was legally harvested (e.g., in NSW or NZ) and the caption makes this clear.

Compliance with Bag Limits:

· Images must never show more game animals than the legal bag limit per hunter pictured. For example, if the legal duck bag limit is 9, an image of a single hunter must not show more than 9 birds.

· Group shots must proportionally match the number of legal participants.

No Illegal, Dangerous or Unsafe Conduct

· Images must not show unsafe firearm handling, illegal behaviour, unlicensed use, or breaches of animal welfare.

· All firearms must be handled in accordance with standard safety protocols (muzzle pointed safely, finger off trigger unless shooting, etc).

Note – images of firearms pointed directly at the camera can be used in context – but ONLY with a note that camera was operated remotely. We will not use images that promote or reward unsafe firearms handling. (NEVER point a firearm at a person).

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2. CONSERVATION-FIRST CONTENT

· Prioritise images that tell a conservation story: water delivery, wetland restoration, nest success, predator control.

· Showcase Field & Game’s long-term environmental role—before/after wetland shots, working bees, planting days, etc.

Seasonal and Ecological Indicators:

· Include context showing environmental conditions—water levels, native vegetation, nests, and weather.

Feature Science & Education:

· Incorporate images of banding, telemetry tracking, predator traps, hen houses, or other scientific work.

· Always depict volunteers or researchers respectfully.

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3. PEOPLE AND COMMUNITY

Mentorship & Diversity:

· Prioritise photos that reflect multi-generational involvement and mentoring.

· Capture families, friends, and teamwork over individualism.

Cultural Awareness:

· Never publish images taken on Indigenous land without clear permission.

· Avoid content that may appear disrespectful or ignorant of cultural heritage.

Consent & Safety:

· All people in images must give consent for publication.

· Firearm safety must be observed at all times: finger off trigger, muzzle control, no aiming at camera or people.

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4. TECHNICAL STANDARDS

High-Quality Content:

· Use sharp, well-composed, natural light images.

· Avoid over-editing, filters, or heavily staged photos unless clearly styled for marketing.

Metadata & Captioning:

· Every image should include:

o Date and location

o Photographer name

o Species and count

o Names of pictured individuals

o Relevant context (e.g., “Taken on opening morning in NSW under 2025 legal limit”)

Avoid Misleading Representation:

· Never stage or misrepresent the success of a hunt.

· Images must reflect the actual activity undertaken.

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International Benchmarking Sources:

· Delta Waterfowl (USA): Ethics in hunting photography and communications.

· Ducks Unlimited: Wetland and waterfowl storytelling.

· Safari Club International: Dignity in species portrayal.

· IUCN: Wildlife media guidelines.

Use these sources to continually refresh and benchmark FGA’s media approach.