UAE | Environment
Free Sammy now, Peta tells Atlantis
Animal welfare groups continue to flood Atlantis Hotel with requests to release a captured whale shark, even after the minister of environment and water told Gulf News it would have to be released.
- By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:11 October 20, 2008
- In the latest of pleas, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) wrote a letter to the general manager of Atlantis, Alan Leibman asking the hotel to "immediately return Sammy the whale shark to her rightful home in the ocean".
- Image Credit: Gulf News archive
Dubai: Animal welfare groups continue to flood Atlantis Hotel with requests to release a captured whale shark, even after the minister of environment and water told Gulf News it would have to be released.
In the latest of pleas, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) wrote a letter to the general manager of Atlantis, Alan Leibman asking the hotel to "immediately return Sammy the whale shark to her rightful home in the ocean".
Jason Baker, Director of Peta Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong forwarded the letter to Gulf News in which he writes, "Removing animals from the wild and putting them on display in captivity does nothing to promote true conservation efforts and is often a death sentence for marine animals who are torn away from their families and placed in a foreign environment. In the ocean, Sammy would live in deep water, swim for hundreds of miles to feed and mate, and constantly feel the ocean's currents, waves and tides. In your hotel, she will be forced to live in a virtual bathtub."
Peta Asia-Pacific is an affiliate of the world's largest animal rights organisation and has more than two million members and supporters.
He highlighted that in June 2005 two male whale sharks were taken from the waters off Taiwan and shipped to the Georgia Aquarium in the US. They both died within two years.
"We urge the Palm Atlantis Hotel to release Sammy to her rightful home immediately and refocus its considerable resources on efforts to help marine species in their natural habitats. Peta would be willing to cover the costs of transporting Sammy to deeper waters in exchange for a policy prohibiting any future capture of animals from the wild," the letter says.
Sammy the whale shark is a juvenile female and has been in captivity for the past 43 days.
Share this article
Related Articles
-
Minister: Sammy must be released
Sammy must be released, minister says
-
Ex-staff reject Sammy rescue theory
Ex-staff reject Sammy rescue-act theory
-
Gulf News reader sings for Sammy
Loyal Gulf News reader picks up his guitar and sings for Sammy
-
Whaleshark causes stir at Atlantis hotel
Watch Sammy the controversial whaleshark circling in her tank
More from UAE Environment
More from UAE
Popular in UAE
-
Your pictures
Readers' pictures
A Selection of the best Gulf News reader pictures this week
Latest news
- Safe ways of handling medical waste discussed
- Emirati students to be chosen for German internship
- Public urged to ensure food safety
- Residency section clears 6,000 cases
- Residents opt for other gifts as gold soars
- UAE residents spend hours trying to cross into Oman
- Traditional theme at Etihad celebrations
- Dubai in for breezy conditions
- The true meaning of festival of sacrifice
- Maguindanao massacre victims remembered
- School buses must do safe drop-offs
- Rulers exchange Eid greetings
- Plan to make you reach for the book
- The last strand could count in time
- Residents in celebratory mood during Eid
Community Reports
-
School buses must do safe drop-offs
Some bus drivers let students off at the wrong side of the road
-
Munching on a health hazard
Residents must be careful about consuming snacks and sandwiches prepared along the roadside as they attract dirt and bacteria
-
Faded signage fails to guide visitors
Reader seeks better upkeep of signboards in green areas
-
Noise pollution must be regulated
Residents are finding it difficult to sleep well at night owing to ongoing construction work
