British press authority rules against Harry’s complaint about wildlife photos

The Mail on Sunday was well within its rights when it reported that Prince Harry used photos of “tranquilized and tethered” wild animals in Africa to promote Earth Day, the British media-accountability authority ruled.

Harry had complained to the Independent Press Standards Organization, claiming the Mail violated the organization’s accuracy code because the 2016 article implied he had intentionally misled the public that “he was a superior wildlife photographer who had captured the images in dangerous circumstances,” according to the ruling obtained by The Guardian.

According to the Mail article, “Drugged and tethered . . . what Harry didn’t tell you about those awe-inspiring wildlife pictures,” the images of an elephant, a rhino and a lion that Harry uploaded to Instagram were “misleading” because they cropped out a rope tied around the elephant’s leg and failed to mention the animals were sedated, according to The Guardian. 

“Anyone glancing at them quickly could be left with the impression that capturing images of these mighty creatures at such close quarters would have required a thrilling – possibly life-endangering – pursuit across the bush,” the article said.

Harry, a frequent visitor to Africa, told the standards group that it wasn’t necessary to disclose that the animals were drugged and bound, because the caption said they were being relocated, implying the practice. He claimed the rope was edited out because of “Instagram’s format” and noted an uncropped version was posted to the royal family’s website.

The agency agreed with the Mail that it was unclear in the Instagram post that the animals had been sedated and tied up, saying it was not “significantly misleading” to report that Harry’s post “did not quite tell the full story.”