Interesting

[SpankMe]

7. I'm not sure defacing wild animals is a good idea

I know the intent is to save them, but we don't know how it will affect them in nature.

I recall several decades ago when environmentalists tried to apply some kind of paint or permanent dye to live seals in the wild to discourage hunters from killing them for their pelts. They couldn't paint enough of them to make much of a difference, and animal experts were concerned about how the chemicals in the dye would affect the animals' health and speculated that it could negatively impact natural breeding. (Juvenile Harp seals had a hard time getting dates with their white fur painted fluorescent orange.)

The impact on breeding was speculative, and there weren't enough defaced seals to provide meaningful statistics on altered breeding and reproduction. But wildlife experts generally panned the practice and saw it more as wildlife harassment.