Stop Allowing Trophy Hunters to Slaughter Puffins

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Sponsor: Free The Ocean

Ask Iceland's Minister of the Environment to stop allowing trophy hunting of puffins

Stop Allowing Trophy Hunters to Slaughter Puffins

Iceland’s iconic puffins are incredibly friendly and social birds who spend most of their lives on the ocean. These remarkable birds have been rapidly declining over the years1 - the population of Atlantic Puffins in Iceland has recently shrunk by over 2 million and the numbers of puffins have declined by as much as 42% in the last five years2.

One reason for their decline? Hunting, including the trophy hunting of puffins for ‘fun.’ As many as 100 of these defenseless birds are killed per trophy hunter and taken back to their homes to show off as evidence of this cruel ‘sport.’

Puffins already face other threats out of our control, but we do have the power to shut down the slaughter of these threatened birds3. We can help ensure that puffins can thrive and survive in their natural environment without the additional threat of trophy hunting driving them to extinction.

About 60% of the puffin population lives in Iceland4. Sign the petition to tell Iceland’s Minister of Environment to STOP the slaughter of puffins!

  1. Atlantic Puffin, Fratercula arctica. ICUN Red List, retrieved June 2020. 
  2. The threats behind the plight of the puffin. Gentle, L., June 8, 2020
  3. From Iceland - Environmental Minister Wants To Protect The Puffins. Grapevine.is., September 25, 2019 
  4. PETITION: Stop the Mass Slaughter of Puffins by Cruel Trophy Hunters. Wolfe, J., 2019, August 7, 2019

The Petition

Dear Minister of Environment,

Even though the hunting season for puffins in Iceland has been shortened, it still allows for 10's of 1,000's of puffins to be killed each year - including by trophy hunters paying a premium to hunt up to 100 puffins per hunter, sometimes for their feathers alone.

According to the globally renowned ICUN Red List, puffins are classified as vulnerable, or "considered to be facing high risk of extinction in the wild.” A full ban on the trophy hunting of puffins is urgently needed to help protect them from disappearing entirely. 

We know you're aware of the troubling numbers of puffins and are reviewing actions to help protect them… but not enough has been done yet. It's a critical time for the puffin and we ask you to take action NOW, before we lose these iconic birds forever.

Sincerely,

DEV MODE ACTIVE. BRAND: ars