{"id":4743,"date":"2019-10-30T16:26:10","date_gmt":"2019-10-30T16:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/?p=4743"},"modified":"2019-10-31T14:23:23","modified_gmt":"2019-10-31T14:23:23","slug":"wall-of-shame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/30\/wall-of-shame\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wall of Shame"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photographer
Photographer Jo-Anne McArthur \u00a9 Kelly Guerin \/ We Animals Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For over a decade, photojournalist, author and educator Jo-Anne McArthur has been documenting the plight of animals around the globe, creating the internationally celebrated We Animals project.<\/h3>\n

In 2017, Jo-Anne\u2019s image\u00a0Pikin and Appolinaire\u00a0<\/a>won the People\u2019s Choice award.\u00a0This year, as We Animals Media continues to make headlines with ground-breaking investigative work,\u00a0Jo-Anne\u2019s image \u2018The Wall of Shame\u2019 was selected by the Jury as a Highly Commended image in the Wildlife Photojournalism category.<\/p>\n

Pinned to a wall are the skins of rattlesnakes. Surrounding them are signed bloody handprints \u2013 triumphant marks of those who have skinned snakes at the annual rattlesnake roundup in Sweetwater, Texas. Each year tens of thousands of rattlesnakes are caught for this four-day festival. In spring, wranglers use gasoline to flush out the snakes from their winter dens \u2013 a practice banned in many U.S. states. \u2018The wall of shame\u2019 is one of the\u00a0many images\u00a0that Jo-Anne captured during her time in Sweetwater, Texas.<\/p>\n

The Wall of Shame<\/h3>\n\"Rattlesnake\n

Overall winners were announced on 15th October, during an awards ceremony at the Natural History Museum\u2019s iconic Hintze Hall. Jo-Anne was in\u00a0London speaking with media throughout the week about the image, and the story behind the rattlesnakes who continue to be slaughtered for the festival, and how every year the species is put at risk of endangerment for what amounts to grotesque entertainment.<\/p>\n

‘I hope that people seeing this image will feel shocked, appalled, solemn, motivated to speak up against wanton violence. All animals should have the right to safety and respect, including the maligned rattlesnake.’\u00a0 – Jo-Anne McArthur<\/p>\n