Editorial: No baiting / Final call for UPY 2026 entries

Staff · Issue 148, Jan/Feb 2026 · pp. 4

Editorial Peter Rowlands peter@uwpmag.com No baiting The decision for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition to change its rules and prohibit any form of baiting is initially understandable but has far reaching consequences, especially for underwater photography. When I first read the news I immediately thought of all those fantastic gannet shots and have always thought it a bit extreme to head out with crates of mackerel - more unnatural feeding than baiting. But also the word has an aggressive tone linked to bears, snares, poison, capture and possibly death. ‘Feeding’ might be a better term but that throws the net even wider. Either way, the problem with rules is that they are rarely black and white and this is certainly the case and especially for underwater images. Think about it; if it were applied to underwater photography competitions, there would certainly be no shots …