Action Alert! (Sample letter for you to send below)

Help us stop the exploitation of Florida's Marine Wildlife for profit: add your voice to the upcoming showdown between greedy dive operators and a growing coalition of concerned marine conservation groups, scientists and wildlife managers concerning the feeding of marine wildlife.

A growing and disturbing trend among certain profit-driven interests within the sport diving industry is to promote so-called "interactive diving" experiences, which often include feeding, touching, and even riding of marine wildlife. Such activities have been shown, time after time in virtually every context yet studied, to have predictable and severe negative impacts on wild animals themselves, their ecosystems, and people who eventually come into contact with animals treated in this manner. The health of "fed" animals is directly endangered, their natural movement patterns and other behaviors are altered, and the balance of nature in marine environments is disturbed. These effects have been scientifically documented through numerous studies! Additionally, humans who later come into contact with "fed" wildlife are exposed to a highly increased probability of attack by animals who have lost their natural fear of people and instead have come to associate people with food! Hundreds of Americans have been hurt or killed in this way.

For these reasons, the feeding of wildlife has for many years been totally banned in all of our National Parks and Wildlife Refuges, including underwater versions in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Biscayne Bay, Hawaii and other sites. However, such activities remain minimally regulated in most of our coastal waters, a fact that greedy dive-travel marketing interests continue to exploit to their own financial advantage, charging unknowing divers hundreds of dollars per dive to feed and otherwise disturb marine wildlife. Most commonly, the "targeted" animals are sharks, rays and marine mammals such as dolphins and whales! Although the latter are protected from such disturbance in U.S. waters by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the U.S.-based dive industry continues to promote wild dolphin and whale feeding and touching in waters of nations without the strict regulations of the U.S., essentially charging exorbitant fees to American divers to travel to other countries to engage in activities that are illegal in American waters!

This growing problem is coming to a showdown in Florida on May 24, when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC)
meets to decide on the fate of marine wildlife feeding in Florida. In February of 2000, the FFWCC responded to a petition by concerned citizens and environmental groups by correctly judging the issue to be a "no-brainer" and directing that a new rule be drafted that would completely ban the feeding of marine wildlife to promote viewing in Florida waters. That proposed rule would have no effect on traditional sport or commercial fishing. Since then, a small but well-funded and highly influential element of the sport diving industry have waged an all-out and fairly successful campaign to reverse the February 2000 decision of the FFWCC, placing the outcome of this debate in doubt!

Do not allow a small group of profiteers to continue to damage our marine wildlife and environment, and endanger those who seek to observe nature at its best!

The following groups have already gone on record in support of the proposed ban on feeding marine wildlife in Florida:

Environmental Defense
World Wildlife Fund
Reef Relief
Defenders of Wildlife
Watchable Wildlife, Inc.
U.S. Humane Society
Surfrider Foundation
New York Aquarium/Wildlife Conservation Society
Office of Protected Resources (NOAA/U.S. Dept. of Commerce)
U.S. National Park Service

We urge you to please join these concerned voices and express your opinion on this issue to the FFWCC and the Governor of Florida by sending (or modifying according to your own tastes) the attached sample letter, attached below.

Thank you for helping protect marine wildlife and habitats, and ensuring the safe enjoyment of our natural treasures by the general public!

You may edit this with your own words and send it to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and Governor Jeb Bush by hitting the "Email it!" button below.
Feel free to copy and paste into a fax or letter as well.