Dear Mr St Ange,
We the undersigned request that the Seychelles government does not kill sharks in response to the tragic deaths this month, August 2011.
In response to a government statement by Mr St Ange, director of Seychelles Toursim Board who said "We need to find the beast and get it out of our waters,"
We would like to highlight the following misconceptions implied within this statement1. Sharks are not beasts they are ancient fish highly specialized and adapted to hunting in aquatic environments.2.Sharks have for centuries lived, reproduced and hunted in the oceans travelling thousands of miles each year, therefore, the notion of a land based species i'll adapted to the aquatic environment owning the seas is a little ridiculous. 3. By "get it out" do you mean remove humanly to another location or as some reports have stated begin a shark hunt?
As we are sure you understand culls of species without knowledge of their impact can destroy ecosystems and be tragically detrimental to other species reliant upon them. Tourism relies on the ocean and any widespread shark culling will have a widespread negative effect on the reefs and the reasons people travel to your beautiful islands.
We feel a better response to these tragic accidents would be to study shark behaviour and feeding grounds as well as educating tourists on these findings and how to avoid confrontation with a hunting sharks and that such a response would beneficial to the long term future of tourism.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter,
Sincerely,The Petition Signers
