In states where game farms are legal, such operations might charge visitors for a chance to view or photograph wildlife, or provide animals for stock photos or films, Mangelsen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He’s been a vocal opponent of game farms and captive animal photography since the early 1990s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He argues that\u00a0there\u00a0animals are sometimes kept in miserable conditions, and that images of captive wildlife undermine the ethics of true wildlife photography.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s bullshit on top of bullshit on top of bullshit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Majestic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Leaping-mountain-lion-Sarah-Cheriton-Jones-via-Alamy-8.30.25.jpg\")
Majestic images of mountain lions leaping across gullies are most likely staged with captive animals. World-renowned Wyoming wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen is on a mission to end the \u201cgame farms\u201d that abuse and exploit those wild animals. (Sarah Cheriton Jones via Alamy)The Leaping Mountain Lion<\/p>\n
One example of staged wildlife photography are images of mountain lions leaping across rocky gorges.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The mountain lion might be photographed close-up \u201cstretched out against a clear blue sky,\u201d Mangelsen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mountain lions are incredibly elusive, so being in just the right place at just the right time to capture such a shot would be nearly impossible, he said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The photos are almost certainly staged with a captive mountain lion, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wyoming wildlife photographer Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven agrees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMost \u2018amazing\u2019 up-close images you see of a mountain lion jumping in a beautiful rocky setting were taken at a game farm,\u201d he said. “The handler lets them out of the cage, photographers get ready, and the cougar gets baited to jump.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot my cup of tea. Other than the fact that it\u2019s not exactly ethical wildlife photography, I don\u2019t support wildlife being raised or captured for allowing some lazy photographers to get some images.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wildlife photographer Savannah Rose said staged images of big cats are rampant.<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty much all the mountain lion and snow leopard photos you see are fraudulent,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Question Of Ethics<\/p>\n
Mangelsen and other wildlife photographers told Cowboy State Daily that the ethics of captive wildlife operations are questionable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never visited one, nor would I ever want to visit one. From what I understand, the practices are awful and most are very unethical,\u201d said wildlife photographer and conservationist Julie Argyle.<\/p>\n
Rose said she has serious concerns about how captive animals are treated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGame farm pictures still oversaturate the market with fraudulent scenes of captive animals that sell a false narrative of animal behavior to the public, which is problematic in its own ways,\u201d\u00a0she said. “But bottom line, they\u2019re egregiously abused animals.<\/p>\n
“Look into the FOIAs on some of these places, the documents of violations are absolutely horrific.”<\/p>\n
\u201cThese photos are the dark underbelly of the \u2018wildlife\u2019 photography industry,\u201d Rose added.<\/p>\n
Wildlife photographer Isabella Smedley said that facilities should be geared toward educating the public about wildlife, rescuing animals and, whenever possible, rehabilitating animals to be released back into the wild.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI may be wrong, but many of those that offer photographic opportunities of wildlife have very little regulation,\u201d\u00a0she said. “As wildlife photographers, we know feeding animals is not ethical, but baiting unfortunately is alive and well in many of the places that offer those opportunities.<\/p>\n
“When it comes to making money, the wildlife is always at risk.”<\/p>\n
The Animals\u2019 Fate<\/p>\n
Mangelsen said one of his biggest concerns is animals being abandoned or killed once they\u2019ve outlived their usefulness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey (game farm operators) might kill the animals themselves. Or sell them off to canned hunting operations in other states,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rose agreed that\u2019s a problem. In states with looser regulations, animals aren\u2019t kept in a manner that meet the standards of accredited zoos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Animals are \u201ckept in tiny pens hidden from the public, and they breed them every year to give people the \u2018cute baby\u2019 workshops, then kill off whatever animals are no longer of good use as \u2018actors\u2019 to them \u2014 and part them up and sell the furs like they\u2019re a broken-down car,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"Majestic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Leaping-mountain-lion-Mira-via-Alamy-8.30.25.jpg\")
Majestic images of mountain lions leaping across gullies are most likely staged with captive animals. World-renowned Wyoming wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen is on a mission to end the \u201cgame farms\u201d that abuse and exploit those wild animals. (Mira via Alamy)A Thing Of The Past?<\/p>\n
Mangelsen said his opposition to game farms sprouted from things he saw at an operation called Animals of Montana.<\/p>\n
He recalled instances of predator and prey animals being put into crates and stacked together on the same truck to be moved for remote location photo or films shoots.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were natural enemies all stacked together. They were all in the dark, smelling each other,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n