IEMANYA OCEANICA campaign: Example letter to Las Vegas Sands Corporation

This campaign has been successful! So their is no need to write to this restaurant - however you may wish to write to any other restaurant which sells shark fin soup, you could use the template below or write your own letter.

I am a member and supporter of Iemanya Oceanica, a non-profit group whose mission is the international conservation of sharks, rays and their habitats. I urge you to rethink your decision to serve shark fin soup at Jade in your Palazzo Hotel, and any other establishments you own.

I make this appeal because during the last few decades, the demand for shark fins to provide for the shark fin soup industry has increased at an alarming rate. Due to this highly unsustainable and uncontrolled fishery, many shark populations are being driven to extinction. Take a look at the facts:

-It is estimated that 100 million sharks are killed each year for their fins through shark finning.
-Shark finning is defined as the removal of a shark's fins and the wasteful discarding of the oftentimes living animal at sea. Unfortunately, sharks cannot swim without their fins and sink to the bottom of the sea to an agonizing death.
-Global shark populations are estimated to have declined 90% during the last 50 years.
-110 species of sharks are currently listed by the IUCN as species under serious threat.
-Experts estimate that, within 10 years, most species of sharks will be lost.
-Shark fishing and finning is unsustainable because shark populations cannot recuperate due to slow growth and reproduction.
-The loss of sharks threatens the stability of the entire marine eco-system.
-Loss of sharks is also a threat to small-scale traditional fisheries and to food security in some low-income countries.

I hope that the Las Vegas Sands Corp. can live up to its claim of being an upstanding corporate citizen by refusing to serve shark fin soup at any of its establishments. By taking a stand, you can show the world that you are concerned about the fate of the environment.

Be the active community partner you say you are. Do not serve shark fin soup.

Yours sincerely,