Bahamas Sea Turtle Group Launches Save Sea Turtles Campaign

Bahamas Government urged to pass legislation to stop the killing & torture of sea turtles in The Bahamas says Bahamas Sea Turtle Conservation Group.

Bahamas Sea Turtle Conservation Group http://www.saveourseaturtles.com is going international in a campaign to end the harvesting of sea turtles in the country. "It's a national disgrace that these magnificent animals are still hunted & so cruelly treated when brought ashore," said Jane Mather, President of Advocate for Animal Rights, a spokesperson for the group. "Fishermen bring the creatures ashore with their flippers pierced & tied with straw," said Mather. She noted that Bahamas fisheries laws still allow the catching & slaughter of certain turtles, even though The Bahamas is a party to the CITES, which calls on member states to protect all marine turtles. 9 sea turtles have been rescued over the past couple of years, rehabilitated & returned to the sea. Fishermen are now catching them knowing that conservationists will buy them in order to release them. The conservation group is selling "stop the killing" bumper stickers to promote the campaign locally & will be creating a website to protect sea turtles. Their online Internet advertising campaign has registered more than 50,000 hits from around the world in less than three weeks. According to Mather, headlines like "Stop the Killing," & "If Cuba can protect Sea Turtles, why can't The Bahamas," will reach 1000s of Internet users & encourage them to sign a petition urging the Bahamas government to enact legislation to stop the slaughter. Other organizing members of the Bahamas Sea Turtle Conservation Group include Deborah Krukoski, vice president of Animals Require Kindness (ARK) & Kim Aranha, president of The Bahamas Humane Society. Several other organizations actively support the group, including BREEF, ReEarth, & the Andros Conservancy & Trust. Announcing the formation of the group, Mather noted that Cuba had banned the harvesting of turtles last January. "If Cuba can take such a far-sighted decision, why can't The Bahamas?" Mather asks. She added that a failure to stop the mistreatment & killing of turtles could negatively affect eco-tourism, an important sector of the country's number one industry. "Since they have more to lose than many tourism dependent nations, Bahamians should take their place at the forefront of the worldwide effort to stop the killing of these beautiful animals & insist that the government take early, decisive action," Mather said. Several concerned Bahamians have launched a continuing online petition (on Care2petition.com) calling for a turtle-harvesting ban that has been submitted to Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, Minister of Fisheries Larry Cartwright & the Minister of Tourism. Yet, months later, "nothing is being done," said Mather. About: Out to protect the interests of turtles in The Bahamas, the Bahamas Sea Turtle Conservation Group is a new organization for animal rights & strives to make the hunting of turtles redundant. Contact: Jane Mather Bahamas Sea Turtle Conservation Group The Bahamas (242) 393-2205 afar@coralwave.com http://www.saveourseaturtles.com ###