- Signatures: 1,747
- Goal: 1,000
- Deadline: 10-17-2007
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We were recently alerted to hundreds of bat specimens being sold in jars by companies such as necromance.com and post mortemstudiorental.com, and traced the source of these bats to a popular science company used by teachers known as Ward’s Natural Science. We purchased one of these bats and discovered the label was shared by both Wards and Science Kit & Boreal Laboratories. Ward’s Natural Science company and its affiliates, Edmund Scientific, Science Kit and Boreal Laboratories, provide science education materials for elementary through college classrooms. Wards is a division of VWR International.
On gross necropsy we discovered this bat, a female Mexican free-tail, to be plump and healthy. She had a full stomach and intestines and was also a nursing mother. By all appearances (and by Ward's later admission) this bat was collected live and killed, leaving behind a starving pup. This bat had a potential life span of 25 to 40 years in the wild and was capable of eating hundreds of millions of insects during her lifetime. She was sold for $6.25.
For the complete story please visit: http://www.batworld.org/wall_of_shame/wardsnaturalsciencekills.html
On gross necropsy we discovered this bat, a female Mexican free-tail, to be plump and healthy. She had a full stomach and intestines and was also a nursing mother. By all appearances (and by Ward's later admission) this bat was collected live and killed, leaving behind a starving pup. This bat had a potential life span of 25 to 40 years in the wild and was capable of eating hundreds of millions of insects during her lifetime. She was sold for $6.25.
For the complete story please visit: http://www.batworld.org/wall_of_shame/wardsnaturalsciencekills.html
| Number | Date | Name | State | Country | Statement to Wards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,750 | 3:47 pm PDT, Jul 13 | Dana Fillion | Connecticut | United States | |
| 1,749 | 11:52 pm PDT, Jul 8 | Cindy Edwards | Canada | ||
| 1,748 | 5:39 pm PDT, Jul 8 | Jo-Ann Mowrey | Maryland | United States | I'm signing in protest of cruel, unconscionable, and abominable behavior. How can you sleep at night when you engage in such reprehensible acts all in the pursuit of profit while masquerading as education?? |
| 1,747 | 1:02 pm PDT, Jul 8 | Katarina B. | Florida | United States | |
| 1,746 | 4:43 pm PDT, Jul 7 | gregory asay | Wyoming | United States | |
| 1,745 | 2:03 pm PDT, Jul 2 | Luandri Geldenhuys | South Africa | I find your actions incredibly inhumane and disgusting... Perhaps we should catch and kill you for 'educational' purposes?! | |
| 1,744 | 10:36 pm PDT, Jun 27 | shara staley | North Carolina | United States | |
| 1,743 | 6:10 pm PDT, Jun 22 | Cassandra K. | South Carolina | United States | YOU ARE STUPID IDOITS!!!!thank you for reading this!!!! |
| 1,742 | 1:54 pm PDT, Jun 22 | renee federico | California | United States | Stop this slaughter for profit! |
| 1,741 | 8:58 am PDT, Jun 18 | Lisa Hawkins | Connecticut | United States | No animal should have to die for a science project. This is horrifying. |
| 1,740 | 6:28 am PDT, Jun 15 | Roxanne Cochran | Florida | United States | To kill these animals sham on you. We need these animals stop there are other ways to make a buck try working or doing some thing to increse and help the spices |
| 1,739 | 11:26 am PDT, Jun 7 | kapil thangavellu | Washington D.C. | United States | |
| 1,738 | 8:15 am PDT, Jun 3 | Dawn Mclaughlin | United Kingdom | I have worked with animals all my life from the age of 17 and am now 39 and still cant understand so called scientists especially when it comes as per usual to the detrement to the animal and especially a mammal! I have been a student and i can assure you killing animals so the students can look for a few seconds into a jar is not going to educate them above the suffering of that animal especially when it is not out to help and preserve them on this sad planet!!! | |
| 1,737 | 1:55 pm PDT, May 31 | Annelies Ooms | Belgium | ||
| 1,736 | 10:46 am PDT, May 29 | Abra Alexander | Texas | United States | I had a hard time finishing the article about Ward's bat killing. There are so many other ways to make money. So they really need money so badly that they need to kill for it? Why not be a "Ward" for the environment and help bats instead of destroying them. I will be sending this letter to the teachers at my children's elementary and middle schools. |
| 1,735 | 7:32 pm PDT, May 22 | Delaney Miller | Washington | United States | |
| 1,734 | 7:35 am PDT, May 16 | Ida Lindelöf | Sweden | ||
| 1,733 | 9:38 pm PDT, May 14 | Anonymous | United States Minor Outlying Islands | ||
| 1,732 | 1:43 pm PDT, May 12 | Stuart Zimmerman | Virginia | United States | I will be sure to remember your company's name and certain to make sure your unethical conduct is known to my child's science teachers. |
| 1,731 | 10:37 pm PDT, May 8 | Felicia Waialae | Hawaii | United States | |
| 1,730 | 11:04 am PDT, May 8 | Jill Roberts | Wisconsin | United States | |
| 1,729 | 1:52 pm PDT, May 7 | lee gagley | Florida | United States | |
| 1,728 | 7:09 am PDT, May 1 | Gina Compton | Canada | ||
| 1,727 | 2:46 pm PDT, Apr 30 | neil hamilton | United Kingdom | ||
| 1,726 | 2:27 pm PDT, Apr 30 | Barbara & Vince Smolinski | Delaware | United States | Are you not aware that Bats and Bee's pollinate the food that we humans need to survive? The fact that you are killing them to make money to line your pockets is an crime against nature and should be punishable by heavy fines and prison. Does the human race need these animals, yes we do. Do we need companies like yours, NO NO NO NO! |
| 1,725 | 7:58 pm PDT, Apr 29 | Brett Bourlon | Iowa | United States | Using bats in this manner is an abomination. They may be animals, but to kill them just to make a quick buck is inexcusable. |
| 1,724 | 2:22 pm PDT, Apr 25 | Nicky Jones | Tennessee | United States | |
| 1,723 | 7:04 pm PDT, Apr 23 | Jennifer Barlow | Virginia | United States | Just stop. Find another way to make your money, because I'm sure that is really all your company cares about. |
| 1,722 | 6:25 pm PDT, Apr 23 | christina yoakum | Kentucky | United States | |
| 1,721 | 10:26 am PDT, Apr 21 | Tammy Mackey | Canada | ||
| 1,720 | 12:34 pm PDT, Apr 20 | George Katerberg | Canada | Could someone please explain to me how capturing and removing a lactating mother, that results in an orphaned pup, that dies a miserable death from starvation is humane? This is so wrong on every level. This must stop now. | |
| 1,719 | 12:12 pm PDT, Apr 20 | Angela Mackey | Canada | Unfortunately, some people believe that our beautiful wild animals do not perceive pain. Although some species of bats may be common and not facing extinction; for the unfortunate individual that is caught and removed, he/she is facing their own personal extinction. Words can not adequately express the critical role each and every individual has within the colony. No different from ourselves and the contributions each of us make to our communities. Every single individual removed leaves a tiny hole that will never again be filled. The colony will never again be exactly the way it was. Please, leave our beautiful bats alone to live their lives in peace. It really does matter. And besides... "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King, Jr | |
| 1,718 | 1:39 pm PDT, Apr 19 | DeAndra Cardenas | Texas | United States | I do not believe that it is necessary to package dead bats to properly teach students. And at only $6.25 a bat they are obviously not very "rare", which means many bats are dying a horrible death. Please discontinue this practice of taking valuable wild creatures from their homes and families. |
| 1,717 | 5:54 pm PDT, Apr 16 | Julia Freitag | Pennsylvania | United States | Stop your disgusting behavior. People who care about animals should find ways to experiment on you. |
| 1,716 | 10:08 am PDT, Apr 16 | Naiya Cominos | Oregon | United States | Is this really necessary for the betterment of humanity? No. Use video recordings to share with students. Use detailed photographs to teach. Please, stop killing live specimens. This is ridiculous. |
| 1,715 | 3:56 am PDT, Apr 16 | Steve West | New Mexico | United States | I am a recently retired biology teacher and former biology teacher of the year for New Mexico. I still work closely with science teachers and science students. I am going to work against Ward's for this stupidity in collecting bats. |
| 1,714 | 11:07 pm PDT, Apr 15 | Glen Venezio | Puerto Rico | United States | |
| 1,713 | 6:58 am PDT, Apr 10 | Kimberly Worth | Maryland | United States | My sons and I are in the process of adapting our property to offer refuge and safe habitat to the wild animals indigenous to the area. Part of what we will be doing will be to provide safe housing for bats. Our knowledge of these horribly misunderstood and treated animals would not be any better if we were to purchase slaughtered individuals. Besides my immediate family members, friends and colleagues very involved in science and education are sickened to think that such a respected resource as your company would continue to participate in such a barbaric practice in the name of science and education. Please reconsider and be a champion for what is right. |
| 1,712 | 11:29 am PDT, Apr 8 | Miranda DiStefano | New York | United States | |
| 1,711 | 8:50 pm PDT, Apr 2 | Ilia Akers | Washington | United States | STOP KILLING AND SELLING OUR BEAUTIFUL BATS!!! |
| 1,710 | 8:22 pm PDT, Mar 30 | Jenny Austin | Indiana | United States | |
| 1,709 | 7:07 pm PDT, Mar 26 | Rick Heuvel | New York | United States | Considering that all species of Bats are in a dire situation of die offs right now in New York State. Ward's needs to cut off all collections of Bats from anywhere. Bats are coming outside this winter showing signs of starvation and illness. Ward's must understand the urgency and stop all Bat shipments, NOW. |
| 1,708 | 9:30 pm PDT, Mar 24 | Benjamin Alvarado | California | United States | though it might be for educational purposes, it is the 21st century and I'm sure you can use a mechanical bat or simulate one, instaed of killing real bats. |
| 1,707 | 9:35 am PDT, Mar 20 | Dianne Schure | New York | United States | |
| 1,706 | 12:16 pm PDT, Mar 19 | Dora Hardegger | Switzerland | Your actions are absolutely appalling and must be stopped - welcome to the 21st bloody centuary! | |
| 1,705 | 7:46 pm PDT, Mar 18 | kerri milam | Texas | United States | |
| 1,704 | 3:47 am PDT, Mar 18 | fabian von muehlenen | Switzerland | ||
| 1,703 | 3:46 am PDT, Mar 18 | pietra von muehlenen | Switzerland | ||
| 1,702 | 10:57 am PDT, Mar 17 | Peter Beck | Switzerland | ||
| 1,701 | 8:59 am PDT, Mar 17 | Sylvia Laver | Switzerland |
WARD'S NATURAL SCIENCE KILLS
Dear Ward's Natural Science,
You are selling bats that have been collected healthy and alive, then killed just so your company can make a profit. You are also condoning the harvesting of healthy mother bats and causing the intentional orphaning of helpless babies, which is morally repugnant and cannot be justified scientifically.
Bats are in rapid decline across the US. As primary predators of vast quantities of night-flying insects, including serious crop pests, free-tailed bats are important to the agricultural interests of our country. As a purportedly ethical society, it is time we moved beyond the practice of sacrificing free-living animals for ‘study.’ There are numerous specimens available at fine museums everywhere and deceased wildlife, which has died of natural causes, can be easily obtained from wildlife rehabilitators. I am absolutely sure that every school student in this great country would be outraged if they knew these animals were being killed just so they could look at them in a jar.
I ask that Ward’s Scientific and all its affiliates stop the sacrifice of bats and other healthy wildlife on the grounds it is unjustified, unsustainable, and morally wrong. Until then, I will tell all my friends about Ward's Natural Science and its affiliates and actively encourage the boycott of Wards Natural Science products to teachers, students and the general public across the US.
Note: This WARD'S NATURAL SCIENCE KILLS petition was submitted by Leslie Sturges. 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 contact customer support.
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