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
  • Gulf News

  • 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.

  • Rate this article
  • Average reader rating (0 votes) 0 Stars
Tools

Emailing an article to friend is a simple way to share a news item. Your friend will receive an email with your name and email address as well any personal message you choose to send.

The information you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited emails.

This service is not intended to encourage spam, and action may be taken against individuals who maliciously enter personal details of another individual.

Share this article

Related Articles

  1. Minister: Sammy must be released

    Sammy must be released, minister says

  2. Ex-staff reject Sammy rescue theory

    Ex-staff reject Sammy rescue theory

    Ex-staff reject Sammy rescue-act theory

  3. Gulf News reader sings for Sammy

    Gulf News reader sings for Sammy

    Loyal Gulf News reader picks up his guitar and sings for Sammy

  4. Whaleshark causes stir at Atlantis hotel

    Whaleshark causes stir at Atlantis hotel

    Watch Sammy the controversial whaleshark circling in her tank

More from UAE Environment

  1. Recycled boats float eco-awareness message

  2. EAD studies focus on water security

  3. Riveting Bird Bath

  4. Recycle your organic waste

All articles in Environment

More from UAE

Gulf News
Popular in UAE
Readers' pictures
Your pictures

Readers' pictures

The best reader pictures from around the UAE this week

Latest news
Community Reports

More from Community Reports

Weather

More from Weather