The time of the manta rays is over, lost to greed and exploitation by humans. Hannah is a wanderer, a sea gypsy, a manta ray reincarnate as person, lost to the world. Alone and searching for a time long past, she gives herself up to the sea, slowly walking into the waves and drifting into the dark abyss. In a dream-state, she awakens falling through water, bubbles and lights. Watch the short film from Blue Sphere Media. A manta glides gracefully from the darkness and approaches her, brushing close to her hand and face...and she smiles. Other mantas appear and she is united with her lost family at last. A dance begins with Hannah and the mantas emulating each others movements, a dance they have done a thousand times before.
Manta rays are world renowned for their charismatic beauty, gentle behaviour, and inquisitive, playful nature. For this reason, tourists spend nearly US $140 million annually to see these manta rays in the wild providing an important source of income to many countries.
In the last decade, a market has emerged in Asia for ray gill plates as a tonic, which has no basis in official Traditional Chinese Medicine and no proven health benefits.
Thousands of manta rays are being killed each year.
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is a binding international agreement between governments. We ask that during the next CITES meeting in March 2013 countries vote to list manta rays under Appendix II of CITES.
With a two-thirds majority vote, the international trade in manta rays will be controlled in order to avoid unsustainable levels of trade that threaten the survival of these beautiful and valuable animals. Please sign and share this urgent petition and help us to gain protection for these amazing animals.
Sign up to the petition and for more information please check the following links:
http://www.mantatrust.org
http://www.facebook.com/MantaTrust
http://www.mantarayofhope.com
http://www.cites.org
Image courtesy of Blue Sphere Media
