News
A Big Win for Seahorses
The Seahorse Trust have announced that they are delighted to see that Etsy has updated its policy on Endangered or Threatened Wildlife Products, clarifying that it prohibits the sale of products made from seahorses alongside many other endangered or threatened animals.
While seahorses are protected under Appendix II of CITES (species of which Etsy normally allows the sale of), given the serious risk of extinction faced by the species we applaud their decision to include them on the list of banned species.
This highly encouraging news comes after a long campaign by The Seahorse Trust against the sale of real seahorses in jewellery, trinkets and traditional medicine through online platforms, which has included extensive efforts to engage with Etsy as well as the launch of a petition to ‘Stop the sale of real seahorses on Etsy’ which gained over 55,000 signatories.
Neil Garrick-Maidment, Founder and Executive Director of The Seahorse Trust said:
“With an estimated 150 million seahorses killed each year and seahorses projected to be extinct within 20 years, it is critical that trade in these vulnerable animals is prevented from continuing to threaten their survival. As such, it is hugely encouraging to see many of the world’s largest online marketplaces and information platforms, stepping up to shut down the trade. It is fantastic to see that Etsy, like Ebay, Facebook, Amazon, Alibaba and others, has now made clear that the sale of threatened seahorses through its platform is not acceptable. I am extremely grateful to everyone who has supported The Seahorse Trust in calling on Etsy and other companies to stop the sale of seahorses. Seahorse sales have now been banned across all of the major global online marketplaces, potentially saving huge numbers of animals each year.”
For more information about the work of The Seahorse Trust visit their website by clicking here.
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
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
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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.
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More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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