Guest guest Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Dear All, You may recall my letter from about a week ago, asking people to consider signing on to our dolphin letter. We already have the support of 161 international organisations, and the more of us join together on this, the stronger our case. It would be great to have your organisation's name on there as well. PLEASE help if you can! 1. HERE'S WHAT IS ALL ABOUT (the letter is at the bottom) Hector's and Maui's dolphins occur only in New Zealand. Gill netting and trawling have pushed them to the brink of extinction. Hector's have declined from an estimated 26,000 in the 1970s to just 7,000. The situation for Maui's is even worse. A staggering 90% have drowned in fishing nets and just 111 animals survive. The New Zealand Government is about to announce whether it will improve existing protection levels, after having delayed its decision from December 2007. Because of momentous political pressure and a concerted misinformation campaign by the fishing industry, it is critical that those of us who have a problem with extinction make a final push on the dolphins' behalf. As part of Care for the Wild's efforts to achieve a positive outcome, we are preparing an international sign-on letter urging the NZ Prime Minister to ensure that Hector's and Maui's dolphins are fully protected against all commercial and recreational fishing-related mortality, which I will deliver by hand. There is no doubt that NZ is concerned about international opinion on this, so international opinion is what we need to give them. I know you are very busy with your own work, but please give 5 minutes of your time today to read and sign-on to the letter below. To sign-on please e-mail your organisation's name and country to bmaas no later than Wednesday 20th February. If you know of other organisations that might be interested in joining, please feel free to forward this message. For more information, please visit http://www.careforthewild.com/campaign.asp Thanks! Dr Barbara Maas CEO, Care for the Wild THE LETTER: Dear Prime Minister, We the undersigned represent XXX national and international environmental and animal protection organisations from xxx countries. Collectively we represent XXX supporters, including leading marine biologists, conservationists and concerned members of the public. Together, we would like to urge you to ensure that your Government accepts nothing less than full protection for Hector's and Maui's dolphins against all commercial and recreational fishing-related mortality. We congratulate you for putting together an extensive Draft Threat Management Plan (TMP) for Hector's and Maui's dolphins. The draft TMP identifies fishing, particularly gillnetting and trawling, as " the greatest cause of human induced mortality to the dolphins " , and DOC's own figures attribute nearly 70% of Hector's dolphin mortality to fishing. Hector's dolphins have declined from some 26,000 in the 1970s to just 7,000. The situation for Maui's is even worse. Ninety percent have died in fishing nets and a mere 111 survive. Research has shown that this species will not survive if more than one animal is killed every 5-7 years. But at least 12 Maui's dolphins have died in the past 5 years alone, creating a severe deficit. If nothing changes, numbers are predicted to decline further, and almost 10,000 Hector's dolphins will be lost during the next 50 years – an average of 200 animals a year. These are shocking figures for any species. They are real and stand, despite vociferous claims to the contrary by detractors with vested interests, and leave no margin for error. We are disappointed that none of the management options considered by the draft TMP afford Hector's or Maui's dolphins full protection against fisheries bycatch. Even the best possible set of measures included in the TMP (Option 3) would provide less than a 50:50 chance that Hector's dolphins will recover to just half their 1970s numbers by 2050. In contrast, the Marine Mammal Protection Act explicitly requires that species listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable should become non-threatened as soon as possible, but at least within 20 years. Hector's and Maui's dolphins are not only the world's rarest, but also one of the best studied cetaceans. Twenty four years of research have created a wealth of compelling published and peer-reviewed data on their ecology, population biology and threats that all point in the same direction. Consequently your Government is in a very strong position to take the necessary steps to protect these species for the future. We therefore urge you to implement the following measures: 1) Adopt Option 3, the only management option which may result in slow population recovery 2) Fully protect all parts of the species' range not included under Option 3 (i.e. Tasman Bay, Golden Bay and Pelorus Sound 3) Fully protect areas where Hector's and Maui's dolphins were seen regularly in the past, but not in recent years (e.g. South Taranaki) 4) Extend protection from trawling to the same off-shore distance as the proposed gillnet ban and prohibit both along a 100 metre depth contour (i.e. out to 6,12 and 18 nautical miles offshore, depending on the area) Gillnetting is worth less than 1% of New Zealand's fisheries (not including aquaculture). Short-term economic costs of switching to sustainable dolphin-safe fishing methods will be substantially offset by the benefits accruing from tourism, New Zealand's reputation as a world leader in environmental sustainability, and in the medium term, the fisheries itself. You yourself have said, " Our reputation as a country with a clean and green environment is priceless. Failure to protect it by inaction on sustainability would pose a considerable economic risk to New Zealand. " We agree. Without a firm commitment to genuine sustainability – which in this case means full, range-wide protection against fishing-related mortality throughout the year – New Zealand will undermine its environmental credibility. Your country has long acted as a key advocate for cetacean conservation. The decision before you now also offers an excellent opportunity for genuine leadership. This is an international conservation issue. Hector's dolphins are almost as scarce as tigers, and Maui's dolphins are one of the rarest animals on earth. Like the Kiwi, they are a national treasure, which New Zealand safeguards on behalf of the rest of the world. There is no longer room for compromise. Only complete protection against fishing-related mortality will save Hector's and Maui's dolphins from extinction. With China's Yangtze River dolphin declared extinct at the end of last year, please do not allow another dolphin species to disappear forever. Yours sincerely, Care for the Wild International – UK Advocates for Animals – UK African Ele-Fund – UK Africa Network for Animal Welfare – Kenya Ambiente e Fauna – Italy Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation – Anguilla Animal Alliance of Canada – Canada Animal Concern – UK Animal Concern Advice Line – UK Animal Concerns Research & Education Society – Singapore Animal Friends – Croatia Animal India Trust – India Animal Protection & Environmental Sanctuary – South Africa Animal Responsibility Cyprus – Cyprus Animals Asia Foundation – UK & China Animal SOS Madagascar – Madagascar Animal Welfare Institute – USA Antigua & Barbuda Humane Society Inc – Antigua Arcturos for the Protection of Wildlife and the Natural Environment – Greece Aruba Management Training Institute – Aruba Asociation El Arce de Noe - Costa Rica Association AZIR pour la Protection de l Environnement – Morocco Barbados RSPCA – Barbados Born Free Foundation – International Born Free USA – USA British Divers Marine Life Rescue – UK Calgary Humane Society – Canada Campaigns Against the Cruelty to Animals – Canada Canadian Marine Environment Protection Society – Canada Capricorn Cetaceans Project – Australia Captive Dolphin Awareness Foundation – USA Centro de Conservacion Cetacea – Chile Centro de Pesquina e Conservacao dos Ecossistemas Aquaticos – Brazil Cetacea Defence – UK Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit (CRRU) – UK Cetacean Society International (CSI) – USA CHEELA The Adventure and Conservation Team – Indonesia Coalition for No Whales in Captivity – Canada Cochrane Ecological Institute (CEI) – Canada Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA) – The Philippines Compassion Unlimited Plus Action – India Conciencia y Proteccion Animal La Cienega – Mexico Conservacion de Mamiferos Marinos de Mexico A.C. – Mexico Darwin Primate Trust – South Africa David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust – Kenya David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation – UK Delphis MDC – Italy Dolphin Care – UK Dolphin Conservation Society – Germany Donkey Protection Trust – Zimbabwe Earthcare – The Bahamas Earth Island Institute – UK Earth Keepers – Kenya Education for Nature – Vietnam Environmental Association for Latin America – Costa Rica Estonian Society for the Protection of Animals – Estonia European Cetacean Bycatch Campaign – UK Fair–Fish Association – Switzerland Fast Forward Foundation – The Netherlands Foundation Brigitte Bardot – France Foundation for Animal Welfare – Cameroon Free the Bears Fund – Australia Friends of Animals – Greece Friends of Conservation – USA Friends of the Animals – Dominican Republic Friends of the Elephant – The Netherlands Fundacion FAADA – Spain Fundacion Vidanimal – Columbia GambiCats – UK German Society for Nature Conservation (NABU) – Germany Get Bear Smart Society – Canada Gibbon Rehabilitation Project – Thailand Global Response – USA Grenada SPCA – Grenada Group of 100 – Mexico Humane Society International – USA Humane Society of Canada – Canada In Defense of Animals – India Indonesian Society for Animal Welfare - Indonesia Innovation pour le Developpement et la Protection de l'Environnement (IDPE) – Democratic Republic of Congo Institute for Ornithology – Croatia Instituto Baleia Jubarte (Humpback Whale Institute) – Brazil International Animal Rescue – Malta International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) – International International Primate Protection League – USA International Wildlife Coalition – Brazil Iruka & Kujira (Dolphin & Whale) Action Network – Japan Karoo Animal Protection Society – South Africa Karuna Society for Animals and Nature - India Kenya Society for Protection and Care of Animals (SPCA) – Kenya Lithuanian Society for the Protection of Animals – Lithuania Marine Connection – UK Native Animal Rescue Group – Australia New York Whale & Dolphin Action League – USA Ndola SPCA – Zambia Niagara Action for Animals – Canada OceanCare – Switzerland Ocean Mammal Institute – USA One Voice – France Orca Network – USA Organisation for Respect & Care of Animals (ORCA) – Serbia Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute – Greece Philippine Society for the Protection of Animals – The Philippines Prem Tinsulanonda International School - Thailand ProFauna – Indonesia ProWildlife – Germany Red AMMA A.C – Mexico Re-Earth – The Bahamas Rettet die Elefanten Afrikas e.V – Germany RSPCA – Ceredigion Branch, UK SAMAST – South Africa SAVE FOUNDATION – Australia Save our Seals Fund – UK Save the Whales – USA Sea Sense – Tanzania Society for the Conservation of Marine Mammals – Denmark Society for the Conservation of Marine Mammals (GSM) – Germany Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) – Malaysia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) – Singapore Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) – South Africa Society for the Welfare of Animals Protection (SWAP) – Nigeria Srikandi Animal Care – Indonesia Stichting Dolphinmotion – The Netherlands St. Lucia Animal Protection Society – St. Lucia Sudanese Animal Care – Sudan Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary – Sierra Leone The Animal House – Jamaica The Animal Law Office – USA The Animal Programs Foundation – Bulgaria The Ark, Friends of the Animals – Greece The Bahamas Humane Society – The Bahamas The Gambia H & D Trust – The Gambia The Hope Sanctuary – Barbados The Kharkov Regional Society of Animal Protection – Ukraine The Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA) – Cameroon The Organisation for the Rescue & Research of Cetaceans in Australia – Australia The Palawan Animal Welfare Association – The Philippines The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital – Australia Tierschutzbund Zurich – Switzerland Tree of Life for Animals – UK & India Trinidad & Tobago SPCA – Tobago Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers – Australia Visa Marina Foundation – Costa Rica Vidyanagar Nature Club – India Wakuluzu : Friends of The Colobus Trust – Kenya Wetnose Animal Aid – UK Wild Animal Rescue Foundation – Thailand Wildlife Action Group – South Africa Wildlife Aid – Australia Wildlife Alliance – Cambodia Wildlife Asia – Singapore Wildlife Friends Foundation – Thailand Wildlife, Information, Rescue & Education Service (WIRES) – Australia Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) – India Wildlife Society of Orissa – India Wildscreen – UK Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) – India World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) – International Youth for Conservation – Kenya Zanzibar Environmental Society for the Protection of Animals – Tanzania Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force – Zimbabwe Zoocheck Canada – Canada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Dear Dr. Maas, The Blue Cross of India, of which I have the honour to be the current Chairman, would be happy to be included in the list of organisations supporting your dolphin campaign. Dr. S. Chinny Krishna Chairman Blue Cross of India aapn [aapn ]On Behalf Of the_bat_eared_fox Monday, February 18, 2008 7:43 PM aapn LAST CALL FOR SIGN_ON TO SAVE RAREST DOLPHIN Dear All, You may recall my letter from about a week ago, asking people to consider signing on to our dolphin letter. We already have the support of 161 international organisations, and the more of us join together on this, the stronger our case. It would be great to have your organisation's name on there as well. PLEASE help if you can! 1. HERE'S WHAT IS ALL ABOUT (the letter is at the bottom) Hector's and Maui's dolphins occur only in New Zealand. Gill netting and trawling have pushed them to the brink of extinction. Hector's have declined from an estimated 26,000 in the 1970s to just 7,000. The situation for Maui's is even worse. A staggering 90% have drowned in fishing nets and just 111 animals survive. The New Zealand Government is about to announce whether it will improve existing protection levels, after having delayed its decision from December 2007. Because of momentous political pressure and a concerted misinformation campaign by the fishing industry, it is critical that those of us who have a problem with extinction make a final push on the dolphins' behalf. As part of Care for the Wild's efforts to achieve a positive outcome, we are preparing an international sign-on letter urging the NZ Prime Minister to ensure that Hector's and Maui's dolphins are fully protected against all commercial and recreational fishing-related mortality, which I will deliver by hand. There is no doubt that NZ is concerned about international opinion on this, so international opinion is what we need to give them. I know you are very busy with your own work, but please give 5 minutes of your time today to read and sign-on to the letter below. To sign-on please e-mail your organisation's name and country to bmaas no later than Wednesday 20th February. If you know of other organisations that might be interested in joining, please feel free to forward this message. For more information, please visit http://www.careforthewild.com/campaign.asp Thanks! Dr Barbara Maas CEO, Care for the Wild THE LETTER: Dear Prime Minister, We the undersigned represent XXX national and international environmental and animal protection organisations from xxx countries. Collectively we represent XXX supporters, including leading marine biologists, conservationists and concerned members of the public. Together, we would like to urge you to ensure that your Government accepts nothing less than full protection for Hector's and Maui's dolphins against all commercial and recreational fishing-related mortality. We congratulate you for putting together an extensive Draft Threat Management Plan (TMP) for Hector's and Maui's dolphins. The draft TMP identifies fishing, particularly gillnetting and trawling, as " the greatest cause of human induced mortality to the dolphins " , and DOC's own figures attribute nearly 70% of Hector's dolphin mortality to fishing. Hector's dolphins have declined from some 26,000 in the 1970s to just 7,000. The situation for Maui's is even worse. Ninety percent have died in fishing nets and a mere 111 survive. Research has shown that this species will not survive if more than one animal is killed every 5-7 years. But at least 12 Maui's dolphins have died in the past 5 years alone, creating a severe deficit. If nothing changes, numbers are predicted to decline further, and almost 10,000 Hector's dolphins will be lost during the next 50 years – an average of 200 animals a year. These are shocking figures for any species. They are real and stand, despite vociferous claims to the contrary by detractors with vested interests, and leave no margin for error. We are disappointed that none of the management options considered by the draft TMP afford Hector's or Maui's dolphins full protection against fisheries bycatch. Even the best possible set of measures included in the TMP (Option 3) would provide less than a 50:50 chance that Hector's dolphins will recover to just half their 1970s numbers by 2050. In contrast, the Marine Mammal Protection Act explicitly requires that species listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable should become non-threatened as soon as possible, but at least within 20 years. Hector's and Maui's dolphins are not only the world's rarest, but also one of the best studied cetaceans. Twenty four years of research have created a wealth of compelling published and peer-reviewed data on their ecology, population biology and threats that all point in the same direction. Consequently your Government is in a very strong position to take the necessary steps to protect these species for the future. We therefore urge you to implement the following measures: 1) Adopt Option 3, the only management option which may result in slow population recovery 2) Fully protect all parts of the species' range not included under Option 3 (i.e. Tasman Bay, Golden Bay and Pelorus Sound 3) Fully protect areas where Hector's and Maui's dolphins were seen regularly in the past, but not in recent years (e.g. South Taranaki) 4) Extend protection from trawling to the same off-shore distance as the proposed gillnet ban and prohibit both along a 100 metre depth contour (i.e. out to 6,12 and 18 nautical miles offshore, depending on the area) Gillnetting is worth less than 1% of New Zealand's fisheries (not including aquaculture). Short-term economic costs of switching to sustainable dolphin-safe fishing methods will be substantially offset by the benefits accruing from tourism, New Zealand's reputation as a world leader in environmental sustainability, and in the medium term, the fisheries itself. You yourself have said, " Our reputation as a country with a clean and green environment is priceless. Failure to protect it by inaction on sustainability would pose a considerable economic risk to New Zealand. " We agree. Without a firm commitment to genuine sustainability – which in this case means full, range-wide protection against fishing-related mortality throughout the year – New Zealand will undermine its environmental credibility. Your country has long acted as a key advocate for cetacean conservation. The decision before you now also offers an excellent opportunity for genuine leadership. This is an international conservation issue. Hector's dolphins are almost as scarce as tigers, and Maui's dolphins are one of the rarest animals on earth. Like the Kiwi, they are a national treasure, which New Zealand safeguards on behalf of the rest of the world. There is no longer room for compromise. Only complete protection against fishing-related mortality will save Hector's and Maui's dolphins from extinction. With China's Yangtze River dolphin declared extinct at the end of last year, please do not allow another dolphin species to disappear forever. Yours sincerely, Care for the Wild International – UK Advocates for Animals – UK African Ele-Fund – UK Africa Network for Animal Welfare – Kenya Ambiente e Fauna – Italy Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation – Anguilla Animal Alliance of Canada – Canada Animal Concern – UK Animal Concern Advice Line – UK Animal Concerns Research & Education Society – Singapore Animal Friends – Croatia Animal India Trust – India Animal Protection & Environmental Sanctuary – South Africa Animal Responsibility Cyprus – Cyprus Animals Asia Foundation – UK & China Animal SOS Madagascar – Madagascar Animal Welfare Institute – USA Antigua & Barbuda Humane Society Inc – Antigua Arcturos for the Protection of Wildlife and the Natural Environment – Greece Aruba Management Training Institute – Aruba Asociation El Arce de Noe - Costa Rica Association AZIR pour la Protection de l Environnement – Morocco Barbados RSPCA – Barbados Born Free Foundation – International Born Free USA – USA British Divers Marine Life Rescue – UK Calgary Humane Society – Canada Campaigns Against the Cruelty to Animals – Canada Canadian Marine Environment Protection Society – Canada Capricorn Cetaceans Project – Australia Captive Dolphin Awareness Foundation – USA Centro de Conservacion Cetacea – Chile Centro de Pesquina e Conservacao dos Ecossistemas Aquaticos – Brazil Cetacea Defence – UK Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit (CRRU) – UK Cetacean Society International (CSI) – USA CHEELA The Adventure and Conservation Team – Indonesia Coalition for No Whales in Captivity – Canada Cochrane Ecological Institute (CEI) – Canada Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA) – The Philippines Compassion Unlimited Plus Action – India Conciencia y Proteccion Animal La Cienega – Mexico Conservacion de Mamiferos Marinos de Mexico A.C. – Mexico Darwin Primate Trust – South Africa David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust – Kenya David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation – UK Delphis MDC – Italy Dolphin Care – UK Dolphin Conservation Society – Germany Donkey Protection Trust – Zimbabwe Earthcare – The Bahamas Earth Island Institute – UK Earth Keepers – Kenya Education for Nature – Vietnam Environmental Association for Latin America – Costa Rica Estonian Society for the Protection of Animals – Estonia European Cetacean Bycatch Campaign – UK Fair–Fish Association – Switzerland Fast Forward Foundation – The Netherlands Foundation Brigitte Bardot – France Foundation for Animal Welfare – Cameroon Free the Bears Fund – Australia Friends of Animals – Greece Friends of Conservation – USA Friends of the Animals – Dominican Republic Friends of the Elephant – The Netherlands Fundacion FAADA – Spain Fundacion Vidanimal – Columbia GambiCats – UK German Society for Nature Conservation (NABU) – Germany Get Bear Smart Society – Canada Gibbon Rehabilitation Project – Thailand Global Response – USA Grenada SPCA – Grenada Group of 100 – Mexico Humane Society International – USA Humane Society of Canada – Canada In Defense of Animals – India Indonesian Society for Animal Welfare - Indonesia Innovation pour le Developpement et la Protection de l'Environnement (IDPE) – Democratic Republic of Congo Institute for Ornithology – Croatia Instituto Baleia Jubarte (Humpback Whale Institute) – Brazil International Animal Rescue – Malta International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) – International International Primate Protection League – USA International Wildlife Coalition – Brazil Iruka & Kujira (Dolphin & Whale) Action Network – Japan Karoo Animal Protection Society – South Africa Karuna Society for Animals and Nature - India Kenya Society for Protection and Care of Animals (SPCA) – Kenya Lithuanian Society for the Protection of Animals – Lithuania Marine Connection – UK Native Animal Rescue Group – Australia New York Whale & Dolphin Action League – USA Ndola SPCA – Zambia Niagara Action for Animals – Canada OceanCare – Switzerland Ocean Mammal Institute – USA One Voice – France Orca Network – USA Organisation for Respect & Care of Animals (ORCA) – Serbia Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute – Greece Philippine Society for the Protection of Animals – The Philippines Prem Tinsulanonda International School - Thailand ProFauna – Indonesia ProWildlife – Germany Red AMMA A.C – Mexico Re-Earth – The Bahamas Rettet die Elefanten Afrikas e.V – Germany RSPCA – Ceredigion Branch, UK SAMAST – South Africa SAVE FOUNDATION – Australia Save our Seals Fund – UK Save the Whales – USA Sea Sense – Tanzania Society for the Conservation of Marine Mammals – Denmark Society for the Conservation of Marine Mammals (GSM) – Germany Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) – Malaysia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) – Singapore Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) – South Africa Society for the Welfare of Animals Protection (SWAP) – Nigeria Srikandi Animal Care – Indonesia Stichting Dolphinmotion – The Netherlands St. Lucia Animal Protection Society – St. Lucia Sudanese Animal Care – Sudan Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary – Sierra Leone The Animal House – Jamaica The Animal Law Office – USA The Animal Programs Foundation – Bulgaria The Ark, Friends of the Animals – Greece The Bahamas Humane Society – The Bahamas The Gambia H & D Trust – The Gambia The Hope Sanctuary – Barbados The Kharkov Regional Society of Animal Protection – Ukraine The Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA) – Cameroon The Organisation for the Rescue & Research of Cetaceans in Australia – Australia The Palawan Animal Welfare Association – The Philippines The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital – Australia Tierschutzbund Zurich – Switzerland Tree of Life for Animals – UK & India Trinidad & Tobago SPCA – Tobago Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers – Australia Visa Marina Foundation – Costa Rica Vidyanagar Nature Club – India Wakuluzu : Friends of The Colobus Trust – Kenya Wetnose Animal Aid – UK Wild Animal Rescue Foundation – Thailand Wildlife Action Group – South Africa Wildlife Aid – Australia Wildlife Alliance – Cambodia Wildlife Asia – Singapore Wildlife Friends Foundation – Thailand Wildlife, Information, Rescue & Education Service (WIRES) – Australia Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) – India Wildlife Society of Orissa – India Wildscreen – UK Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) – India World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) – International Youth for Conservation – Kenya Zanzibar Environmental Society for the Protection of Animals – Tanzania Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force – Zimbabwe Zoocheck Canada – Canada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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