By Mark Friedman

It has been a tradition that delegations from the United States visiting Cuba bring donations of medical, marine, scientific or educational/school supplies to give our colleagues there who, due to the 60-plus year US economic blockade, are unable to secure many of these items. Or they are extremely expensive since they must go through a third nation, with high transportation, third-party costs.

Washington’s bipartisan economic and political war aims to increase hardship for the Cuban people and overturn their sovereign government. We should promote the normalization of US-Cuban relations and end all economic and travel sanctions. This would benefit the people of both countries. (personal opinion-not a delegation position)

The scientific or marine equipment need not be new.  They are definitely interested in any type of Marine research equipment: hydrometers, Secchi disks, thermometers, plankton tow nets, aquarium and veterinarian (marine or otherwise) medicines and supplies.

Medical supplies can really be anything.  Believe it or not, they cannot even buy aspirin from the US!  The sanctions and bans on travel and trade were increased to 243 under Trump and unfortunately maintained by Biden.

There is no US government preventing us from bringing material aid when we go to Cuba on April 26 for public conferences at the National Aquarium and the University of Havana on climate change and ocean plastic pollution.

In fact, there are large annual trips organized by IFCO/Pastors for Peace, as well as many religious, scientific and educational organizations that have relationships with Cuban entities.

Thanks for considering this request.

When our last marine delegation went in June 2019, the Cuban educators at the National Aquarium and the University of Havana Marine Studies Institute were so appreciative of these items—many of which were bought at a 99 cents store but inaccessible to them!

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By Ella Magers

It’s World Wildlife Day today, a holiday created by the United Nations to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild animals and plants! This day holds a special place in my heart since I know how vital wildlife has always been to keeping our planet healthy. 

And there’s no doubt in my mind that observing wildlife enhances any travel experience. Sighting a group of rare penguins or being visited by an otter while paddleboarding are thrilled that no scenic landscape can top! National parks and wildlife preserves across the globe know that offering people the opportunity to witness gorgeous creatures in their natural habitats will always be a draw. In the era of ecotourism, travellers have more opportunities than ever before to see and even interact with wildlife … and now we’ve twisted that industry to the point that our compulsion to touch and feed beautiful animals is beginning to harm them.

Classic humanity, right? When we love something hard enough, admiring it from afar just won’t work. We need to be close to it, feel it, own it.

This has been the case for centuries, reaching all the way back to ancient Egypt and the very first zoo in the world, then to the menageries of France, and into the present day with the infamous Tiger King. As a lifelong animal lover and advocate (and multi-decade vegan), I first started pushing back against animals as entertainment when I was just 15 years old. As a high schooler, I started organizing and attending protests, leafleting, and tabling to educate the public about the lives that captive and trained wild animals faced. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Sea World were two of the largest companies that exploited animals back then, keeping orcas, seals and sea lions, big cats, and elephants in tiny enclosures and forcing them to clown for human audiences. 

Fast forward to the year 2017, and the tireless efforts of myself and other wildlife lovers paid off: Ringling Brothers shut down due to increasing public outrage at their animal-treatment policies. And in 2023, the circus is rumored to be reopening … this time without animal acts. Finally, they’ve heard the voice of reason and compassion!

Seaworld, unfortunately, continues to hold beautiful animals captive, and breed them. Majestic marine creatures including beluga whales, dolphins, orcas, and others still suffer for the sake of human entertainment. So, as part of my work as a spokesperson for vegan living and animal advocacy, I will continue spreading awareness and educating people about the horrific consequences for sea animals who are trapped and forced to perform. If you’re not aware of the conditions and policies of Seaworld, please consider watching “Blackfish,” a hard-hitting documentary that reveals the impact of captivity on sea creatures.

I get it: that may not sound like the most uplifting way to celebrate World Wildlife Day. (So feel free to watch the film in a day or two instead!) But if we don’t protect wild animals, eventually we’ll have none of them left to celebrate. So I hope you’ll join me in the rewarding work of advocating for wildlife conservation, habitat restoration, and animal rights. If you love watching herds of wild bison roam the American plains or families of sloths peek out from jungle foliage, if you travel because you adore the wonders of our natural world, please spend a moment on World Wildlife Day doing something to keep our planet’s majestic animals safe from human harm.

Be sure to follow Ella Magers on all platforms to stay up in the loop of all things Healthy. Her social is:

• Facebook: //www.facebook.com/sexyfitvegan
• Website: www.sexyfitvegan.com
• IG: https: //www.instagram.com/sexyfitvegan/

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We would like to give a special THANK for Bellaby Bear for supporting SEVENSEAS monthly clean up in January 2022.

With the collaboration of CORALYFE, we picked up over 300 kilograms of litter at the beach in Krabi.

About Coralyfe

Over the past 5 years, a number of local organizations have been collaborating with the Hat Nopparat Thara National Park, acting on issues such as trash handling, anchor damage, mooring lines, marine organism censuses, reef restoration, etc. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these organizations were forced to interrupt their services, and many had to shut down completely. 

As part of the former staff of one of these organizations, Coralyfe founders felt a personal responsibility to resume work on these important projects, aiming to restore the health of local coral reefs and to reverse the damage that countless years of unregulated tourism and human activity have caused.

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