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		October 23, 2003
	We the undersigned, endorse the following petition: Stop the Importation of Endangered Species! Target: Fish and Wildlife Service Sponsor: SaveOurEnvironment .org SIGNATURES.27,090 GOAL: 20,000 DEADLINE: 10-17-2003 The Bush administration wants to allow commercial international trade of many of the world’s most endangered species. If adopted, the new policy would allow the importation of hundreds of endangered species protected by the Endangered Species Act—including Asian elephants, tigers, chimpanzees and orangutans—under the pretense of “enhancing the survival” of the species. This policy would open the flood gates for trade in highly endangered species and is inconsistent with the ESA, the United States’ obligation under CITES (the Convention for the International Trade of Endangered Species), and with the long-term survival of 500 foreign species that the ESA currently protects. Endangered species from other countries will become commodities to be killed or captured by greedy individuals and businesses that profit from the exploitation of animals and destruction of wildlife. This proposal would, for example, open the door for American trophy hunters to kill the endangered straight-horned markhor in Pakistan; license the pet industry to import the blue fronted Amazon parrot from Argentina; permit the capture of endangered Asian elephants for U.S. circuses and zoos; and partially resume the trade in African ivory. History has shown that putting a price on an animal’s head is more likely to destroy that animal than to save it. Your comments will be faxed and/or emailed to the Fish and Wildlife service immediately. THANK YOU! We have submitted your public comments. The OCTOBER 17TH deadline has now passed. ..... See full petition below.td>    Thank you for signing! We have delivered all of your comments to Fish and Wildlife. .>MOST RECENT 25 of 27,090 SIGNATURES E-mail this petition to your friends. Number Date Name State Your official comment 27,090  11:33 am PDT, Oct 23 Lisa A Wallace FL I favor stopping importation of endangered species with one exception, if the species faced extinction and importation was the only way to save them, otherwise they need to stay in their native habitat. I dont want to loose an entire species due to a technicality of an importation law. 27,089  11:26 am PDT, Oct 23 Anonymous KY WE NEED TO TAKE HEED AND PROTECT ALL OF GOD'S CREATURES BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. 27,088  11:24 am PDT, Oct 23 Julia Ferguson LA   27,087  11:14 am PDT, Oct 23 Anonymous --   27,086  10:42 am PDT, Oct 23 Theresa Barbier LA We are obliged to protect animals-all animals and in this case, we must protect those that are endangered. Their need for protection is most urgent of all, please help protect them. 27,085  10:38 am PDT, Oct 23 Tony Puglisi CA Animals have a right to go through their exsistance from their birth place, just as humans if they decide to. Please don`t change the fate of these animals so that they don`t end up in a zoo. 27,084  10:28 am PDT, Oct 23 kurt hunt CO   27,083  10:25 am PDT, Oct 23 Mary Delgado FL STOP...we, as a human race, must begin to respect all life on this planet and not just use and abuse it according to our whims. 27,082  10:16 am PDT, Oct 23 Marilyn Kramer AZ   27,081  9:55 am PDT, Oct 23 Aaron Loyd MT   27,080  9:52 am PDT, Oct 23 Luis Velez TX   27,079  9:51 am PDT, Oct 23 corey polesel NY Every life saved saves us all every life lost diminishes us all. 27,078  9:50 am PDT, Oct 23 Anonymous --   27,077  9:45 am PDT, Oct 23 kristine lamanna NY   27,076  9:32 am PDT, Oct 23 Dori Mashburn WA   27,075  9:30 am PDT, Oct 23 Amber Creech NC   27,074  9:09 am PDT, Oct 23 melissa daigle LA   27,073  9:07 am PDT, Oct 23 Shay Kelly WA STOP. 27,072  8:56 am PDT, Oct 23 Anonymous CO We have a moral and ethical obligation to protect animals from human exploitation since many humans override their basic instinc for greed and profit. 27,071  8:33 am PDT, Oct 23 alexis blaess CA We have a moral and ethical obligation to protect every species in the world, especially the endangered ones. 27,070  8:14 am PDT, Oct 23 Michele Goldsmith MA   27,069  7:56 am PDT, Oct 23 Dr. Patricia Bredenberg ME We have no right to destroy life here long before humans. If we do, what kind of a world will this be? 27,068  7:40 am PDT, Oct 23 Anonymous AL Stop selling out our world to pacify your contributors. 27,067  7:39 am PDT, Oct 23 Paul Dragon VT   27,066  7:35 am PDT, Oct 23 Anonymous GA It is our responsibility to protect and preserve the animals on our planet. .>Stop the Importation of Endangered Species! Dr. Peter O. Thomas, Chief of Management Authority Fish and Wildlife Service 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 700 Arlington, Virginia 22203 Fax: 703-358-2280 Dear Dr. Thomas: I am writing today to voice my opposition to the administration’s current efforts to rewrite importation policies in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the hundreds of endangered species around the world. The ESA should not be weakened in this manner, but rather, it should continue to be used to protect listed species within the United States and beyond our borders. The proposed change would undermine the basic principles of the ESA by opening the doors to wider trade in foreign endangered species and would not be in the best interest of the long-term survival of these species. The administration’s desired change in policy would mark a dramatic reinterpretation of the ESA that would have far-reaching consequences for the already vulnerable populations of foreign endangered species. The ESA reflects America’s strong commitment to protecting endangered species wherever they are found. The Fish and Wildlife Service should respect that commitment, and maintain a permit policy that prohibits the importation of foreign endangered wildlife except in cases where the import serves a legitimate scientific need or contributes in a direct, substantial and verifiable way to the long-term survival of the species. Thank you for considering my comments. Sincerely, YOUR NAME To the Top/Sign Petition.r> E-mail this petition to your friends. Note: This Stop the Importation of Endangered Species! petition was submitted by SaveOurEnvironment .org. ThePetitionSite.com is a free service provided to help concerned citizens rally support for issues they believe in. The opinions expressed by this petition do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of ThePetitionSite.com or Care2.com. There is no express or implied endorsement of this petition nor any newsletter offers (except those from Care2.com) by Care2.com, Inc, ThePetitionSite.com, or our sponsors. If you believe this system is being abused, please report it here. If you disagree with the opinions of this petition, speak out in the Care2 discussion boards. Questions about this petition? Contact the petition sponsor: SaveOurEnvironment .org Questions about thePetitionSite.com? Visit our FAQ page.

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