Scientists/Conservationists/Spiritual leaders ask Vatican to help save turtles
Aozotorp
Subject: Scientists/Conservationists/Spiritual leaders ask Vatican to help
save turtles
Dear friends,
-Yesterday we mailed this letter (below) to the Vatican on behalf of 64
international environmental, conservation and spiritual leaders and their
organizations.
-In the letter we ask for clarification from the Vatican that sea turtle is
an inappropriate substitute for meat during religious holidays. It is
clearly a phylogenetic error to count sea turtles as "fish". The practice
of consuming sea turtles during Lent and other holidays is contributing to
the endangerment of these species.
-Please take time to share this letter with your colleagues and encourage
them to send a similar letter to the Vatican's address below.
-We hope that this message provokes a response during the Pope's upcoming
visit to North America.
-For more information on this campaign, please visit the following sites:
Wall Street Journal article by Jim Carlton (2002):
--In English:http://csf.co
lorado.edu/forums/consbio/2002/msg00064.html
--In Spanish:http://interactivo.wsj.com/article
s/ SB1017361797855530920-money.html
Thank you again for your time, editing and ideas.
Sincerely,
Wallace J. Nichols, Ph.D.
Director
WiLDCOAST
International conservation team
&
Research Associate
Department of Herpetology
California Academy of Sciences
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
CONTACTS
Mail:
WiLDCOAST
Post Office Box 324
Davenport, California, 95017 USA
Office phone: 831.426.0337
Office fax: 831.426.0347
Mobile: 831.252.0337
U.S. Toll free voice mail/fax: 1.888.736.6686
Email: wjni...@wildcoast.net
Web: http://www.wildcoast.net
His Excellency, Pope John Paul II
Vatican City, Rome ITALY
July 8, 2002
Your Holiness:
We are writing to you on behalf of one of Earth's creatures that does not
have a voice of its own.
We are writing to you on behalf of ancient mariners that have long graced
our planet with their presence.
We are writing to you on behalf of gentle giants that have touched many
human hearts throughout time and across cultures.
We are writing to you on behalf of thousands that could be saved by a few
simple words from Your Holiness.
We are writing to you on behalf of the sea turtles, which are consumed
during the Lenten season.
All sea turtle species face extinction and are protected by the national
laws of many countries. During the Lenten season, devout Catholics around
the world consume thousands of turtles as a substitute for meat. Turtles,
however, are not fish. They are air-breathing reptiles (still reliant on
dry land for the bearing and incubating of their young), and their flesh is
meat, and therefore does not fulfill strict Lenten requirements.
If people refrained from eating turtles during the Lenten season, it would
help stabilize dwindling sea turtle populations around the world. We humbly
beseech you to clarify that sea turtles are not appropriate food during
Lent. Perhaps you can offer a prayer for the sea turtles...a few words from
Your Holiness would inform the entire Catholic community.
Sincerely,
F. Alberto Abreu Grobois, Ph.D.
Chair
IUCN-SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group
Mazatlan, Sinaloa MEXICO
Javier Alvarado, M.C. and Biol. Carlos Delgado
University of Michoacan, S.N.H.
Morelia, Michoacan MEXICO
Randall Arauz
President
Programa Restauraci?n Tortugas Marinas/Costa Rica
PRETOMA
Tib?s, San Jos? COSTA RICA
Homero Aridjis
President
Grupo de los Cien
Mexico City, D.F. MEXICO
Barbara A. Block, Ph.D.
Prothro Professor of Marine Science
Hopkins Marine Station
Stanford University
Pacific Grove, California USA
Mario A. Boza
Board Member
Leatherback Trust
San Pedro, COSTA RICA
Jose Luis Brito Montero
Curator
Museo Municipal de Ciencias Naturales y Arqueolog?a de San Antonio
San Antonio CHILE
Lincoln P. Brower, Ph.D.
Distinguished Service Professor of Zoology Emeritus, University of Florida
Research Professor of Biology
Sweet Briar College
Sweet Briar, VA 24595
Paolo Casale
Sea Turtle Network
c/o WWF Italia
Roma ITALY
Gustavo D. Danemann
Pronatura Pen?nsula de Baja California
Ensenada, Baja California MEXICO
Paul K. Dayton, Ph.D.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
La Jolla, California USA
Marydele Donnelly
Sea Turtle Research Scientist
The Ocean Conservancy
Washington, D.C. USA
Sylvia Earle, Ph.D.
Executive Director for Marine Programs
Conservation International
Washington, D.C. USA
Karen Eckert, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST)
San Diego, California USA
Alejandro Fallabrino
C.I.D./ Karumbe
Tortugas Marinas del Uruguay
Montevideo URUGUAY
Richard Felger, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Drylands Institute
Tucson, Arizona USA
Drs. B.J. Godley, Ph.D. and A.C. Broderick, Ph.D.
Marine Turtle Research Group
School of Biological Sciences
University of Wales
Swansea, Wales UK
Osha Gray Davidson
Turtle House Foundation
Phoenix, Arizona USA
Lisa Grossman
American Museum of Natural History
New York, New York USA
M.Sc. Hedelvy Guada
Biologist
CICTMAR/WIDECAST
Caracas VENEZUELA
The Rev. Charles P. Henderson, Jr.
Executive Director
ARIL / CrossCurrents
New York, New York USA
Wendy Herron
Executive Director
SOS (Save Our Sea Turtles) Tobago
Black Rock, Tobago
Trinidad & Tobago WEST INDIES
Julia Butterfly Hill
Activist & Founder
Circle of Life Foundation
Oakland, California USA
Paul Irwin
President
Humane Society of the United States
Washington DC USA
Cynthia Jurs
Open Way Sangha
Santa Fe, New Mexico USA
Naoki Kamezaki Ph.D.
Director
Sea Turtle Association of Japan
Hirakata, Osaka JAPAN
Robert Kennedy, Jr.
Senior Attorney
NRDC
Washington D.C. USA
Richard Kiy
President & CEO
International Community Foundation
San Diego, California USA
Fred Krueger
World Stewardship Institute
Santa Rosa, California USA
Sandy Lanham
Director
Environmental Flying Services
Mexico-United States
Tucson, Arizona USA
Cynthia Lazaroff
Vice President
Planetary Coral Reef Foundation
Los Angeles, CA USA
Patricia Martinez Rios
Vice President
ProEsteros
Ensenada, Baja California MEXICO
Rod Mast
Vice President
Conservation International
Washington D.C. USA
Katya Miller
Women In Black
Santa Fe, NM USA
Wallace J. Nichols, Ph.D.
Director
Wildcoast
Davenport, California USA
Elliot A. Norse, Ph.D.
President
Marine Conservation Biology Institute
Redmond, Washington USA
Frank V. Paladino, Ph.D.
Jack W. Schrey Distinguished Professor & Chairman of Biology
Indiana - Purdue University
Fort Wayne, Indiana USA
Patricia Parisi
Director
Passionfish
Oakland, California USA
Roger Payne, Ph.D.
Founder & President
Ocean Alliance
Lincoln, Massachusetts USA
Nicolas J. Pilcher, Ph.D.
President
International Sea Turtle Society
Koror REPUBLIC OF PALAU
Earl Possardt
International Sea Turtle Specialist
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Atlanta, Georgia USA
Peter C. H. Pritchard, Ph.D.
Director
Chelonian Research Institute
Oviedo, Florida USA
Singelton Rankin
Board Member
World Wildlife Fund
Washington DC USA
Joel Reynolds
Senior Attorney
Director, Marine Mammal Protection Project
Natural Resources Defense Council
Los Angeles, California USA
Anders G.J. Rhodin, M.D.
Director, Chelonian Research Foundation
Co-Chair, IUCN-SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group
Lunenburg, Massachusetts USA
Carl Safina, Ph.D.
Vice President for Marine Conservation, Living Oceans Program
National Audubon Society
New York USA
Laura Sarti
SEMARNAT
Mexico City, D.F. MEXICO
John Sellers
Executive Director
The Ruckus Society
Oakland, California USA
Dr. Dada Shambhushivananda Avadhuta
Chancellor (Kulapati)
Ananda Marga Gurukula Inc.
Denver,Colorado USA
Kartik Shanker
Wildlife Institute of India
Dehradun INDIA
Caroly A. Shumway, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator for Aquatic Biodiversity
New England Aquarium
Boston, MA USA
Shannyn Sollit
Executive Director
Networks Productions
Santa Fe, NM USA
Mark Spalding
Director, Environmental Law and Civil Society Program
Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies
University of California, San Diego USA
James Spotila, Ph.D.
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
Drexel University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA
Vikki Spruill
Executive Director
SeaWeb
Washington, DC USA
Todd Steiner
Director
Sea Turtle Restoration Project
Forest Knolls, California USA
Christine Stevens
President
Animal Welfare Institute
Washington, DC USA
Melanie Stiassny, Ph.D.
Axelrod Research Curator of Ichthyology
American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA
Javier Villavicencio & Isidro Arce
Punta Abreojos Baykeeper
Baja California Sur MEXICO
Adam Werbach
President
Act Now Productions
San Francisco, California USA
Dr. W. H. Wheir, DVM & Cynthia Jurs
Executive Director & Vice President,
Animal Alliance,
Santa Fe, New Mexico USA
Jack Woody
Associate Regional Director, International Sea Turtle Projects
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Albuquerque, New Mexico USA
(retired)
Patricia Z?rate B.
Marine Biologist - Marine Species Research
Charles Darwin Research Station
Galapagos Islands ECUADOR