News
Sign this petition to help stop the sale of seahorses on Etsy
Conservation charity The Seahorse Trust is campaigning against the sale of real seahorses on creative online marketplace Etsy.
Etsy has been found to allow the sale of real seahorses in jewellery and other trinkets. Seahorses dead or alive, whole or part thereof and even in antique items can’t be legally sold and yet they can be found for sale online. These creatures are protected under Appendix II of CITES.
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Millions and millions of seahorses are killed every year for fashion accessories, trinkets and Chinese medicine. It is projected that in 30 years seahorses will be extinct.
It is a legal requirement to be able to prove that the seahorses are harvested from a sustainable source (even though any harvesting of seahorses is morally wrong, whether sustainable or not). However, enquiries to date by The Seahorse Trust have shown that many sellers on Etsy are in contravention of CITES and legally should not be trading in seahorses and, if they do, they are actually required to have a CITES II certificate to accompany the object.
If they can in fact prove (and the emphasis on proof is that they have to have physical evidence if challenged by anyone) that the seahorses are from a sustainable source, then they can trade but if they cannot then it is illegal and as Etsy are the host they are also breaking the law as they are providing a platform and conspiring to sell a legally protected species. However, the harvesting of seahorses whether from a sustainable source or not is morally wrong and threatens the survival of these creatures.
It is also important to note that once sold the recipients are also bound by CITES as they have bought a CITES protected species.
The Seahorse Trust are asking Etsy to either ban the sale of seahorse products or, at the very least to ensure legal regulations are complied with; make it a requirement for sellers of seahorse products to ask for CITES proof when ads are submitted; as part of the advertising system – the seller could scan in the CITES certificate at the same time as scanning the photos to appear in the ad. Better that they should take the moral stance and ban the sale of seahorse products altogether, which Ebay have already done.
By allowing the sale of real seahorse products, online marketplaces such as Etsy are condoning this trade and also contributing to the demand for seahorse products and thereby their continued killing.
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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