Dear Colleagues: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has published a notice of receipt of a permit application to import 18 wild-caught belugas into the United States. The permit applicant is the Georgia Aquarium, in partnership with five other US facilities (the three SeaWorlds and Mystic and Shedd Aquariums). The permit application materials are available at the following: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/georgia_aquarium_belugas.htm I strongly urge those who have an interest in the welfare of captive cetaceans and those who have an interest in the international commercial trade in marine mammals (and all wildlife) to review these materials and consider submitting comments by the deadline, October 29. There will also be a hearing on October 12 in Silver Spring, Maryland at the NOAA headquarters. Humane Society International is opposed to the capture from the wild of cetaceans for public display and will be submitting comments to this effect. I would be happy to send talking points I have developed for this permit application to anyone who requests them. Regards Naomi Rose Naomi A. Rose, Ph.D. Senior Scientist, HSI-Wildlife nrose@hsi.org<mailto:nrose@hsi.org> t +1 301.258.3048 f +1 301.258.3082 Humane Society International 700 Professional Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20879 USA hsi.org<http://www.hsi.org/> Join Our Email List<http://www.hsi.org/join> Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/hsiglobal> Twitter<http://twitter.com/hsiglobal> [Description: Humane Society International - Celebrating Animals | Confronting Cruelty | Worldwide]<http://www.hsi.org/>
