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
t +1 301.258.3048     f +1 301.258.3082

Humane Society International
700 Professional Drive    Gaithersburg, MD 20879    USA
hsi.org

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