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Vote with your wallet
ARTICLES, SPEECHES AND OTHER READING
CAVEMAN'S MEDIA
VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET
Whenever I visit my favorite Phuket beach, I
see a pair of White Belly Sea Eagles - flying free, enjoying their
aerobatics as soaring birds do. But these mated eagles aren't here to hunt
or play - they come to visit their baby, stolen from the nest three years
ago so the beachfront bungalow can attract tourists.
Despite the cage, the family remains unbroken, mother and father visiting
their captive baby every day.
Ironically, this doesn't have to be. Raptors, undeniably the World's
greatest aviators, include owls, eagles, hawks, kites, falcons, and
kestrels. We envy eagles as they soar coastal thermals and dive gracefully,
but these majestic birds are highly territorial. Any raptor rehabilitator
knows the biggest challenge is getting their releases to leave a steady diet
and loving home.
Of course it's to late once he's raided the nest, but the bungalow owner
could have set out fresh fish daily, built a bond with the birds, then
watched them fly free.
This dream can never happen when tourists use establishments with captive
wildlife, or get their picture taken with a bird or a snake. When wildlife
is good for business, mother gibbons are shot; eagle nests raided, and
forest families broken. Discovery Channel encourages us to travel with
emotional wildlife documentaries, yet we forget those impressions once we
board the plane - dooming our relatives to solitary confinement, unnatural
surroundings, bad diet and a shortened life span.
Your commitment can be minimal. Don't use a business with captive animals -
and tell the owner why you aren't spending money with that establishment. If
you want to be effective, stay "Jai Yen" ("cool heart") and quietly leave
once you make your point.
When bookings go down, maybe the eagles will be reunited. |
