Stolen from Paradise
November is "Tourism Awareness Month" in the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts & Nevis, a month of events held each year to highlight the importance of tourism to the islands.
St. Kitts & Nevis is blessed with a diversity of wildlife, including sea turtles, dolphins, and over 100 species of birds. In addition, African green (or vervet) monkeys have lived on the islands for over 300 years. The monkeys are appreciated by tourists and are often mentioned in travel guides. What many visitors to St. Kitts & Nevis do not know is that each year hundreds of wild monkeys are trapped, stuffed into wooden crates and flown off the islands. Their destination? Research and testing laboratories in the United States, Canada and Europe where pain and suffering are routine.
ARFF has launched a new website -- StolenFromParadise.com -- arguing for a ban on the export of monkeys from St. Kitts & Nevis.
You Can Help
St. Kitts & Nevis deserves to be known for its natural beauty, historic sites and friendly people, and not as one of a small number of nations that export wild monkeys for use in research and testing. Write to the Prime Minister of St. Kitts & Nevis and politely ask for a ban on the export of monkeys destined for the research industry.
• The Honorable Dr. Denzil Douglas
Prime Minister of St. Kitts & Nevis
E-mail: erasmus.williams@cuopm.com (Erasmus Williams, Press Secretary To The Prime Minister)
Please send a copy of your letter to the St. Kitts & Nevis Minister of Tourism and to the national tourism agencies for St. Kitts and Nevis.
• Hon. Richard Skerritt
Minister of Tourism
Government of St. Kitts & Nevis
E-mail: ricky.skerritt@stkittstourism.kn , minister@stkittstourism.kn
• Novelette Morton, Acting CEO
St. Kitts Tourism Authority
E-mail: info@stkittstourism.kn , novelette.morton@stkittstourism.kn
• John Hanley, CEO
Nevis Tourism Authority
E-mail: info@nevisisland.com , john.hanley@sisterisles.kn
- - sample letter - -
"Dear Honorable Prime Minister Douglas:
Each year, hundreds of vervet monkeys on St. Kitts and Nevis are torn from their families and forest homes and exported to laboratories around the world. Once wild and free, these sensitive and intelligent animals end their lives in laboratories where pain and suffering are routine. I urge you to ban the export of monkeys destined for the research industry.
I understand that there are conflicts between humans and monkeys on St. Kitts and Nevis, but there are ways of managing this situation without resorting to export or killing.
Please consider the impact that this continued trade will have upon the international reputation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Thank you,"
*If you have visited St. Kitts & Nevis, or if you are considering a future trip, please mention that when you write!
Please share with ARFF any responses that you receive.