Save The Manta Ray

I was watching a documentary the other day about the manta rays that live off the African coast. They are truly one of the most amazing looking creatures. Unfortunately, like so many animals on our beloved planet, they are being killed by humans. With the manta rays, they are being killed by the Chinese as part of their medicines. Although I love the idea of Chinese healing and how it's all natural. I wish that they would just stick to things like acupuncture and herbs. At least nothing is being killed.

Their gills are what they want as a substitute for shark fins in shark fin soup too. What's worries me particularly is the fact that the manta ray only starts breeding during their teenage years. So what happens if the ray is killed before then? Surely this in itself would be devastating because they wouldn't be able to breed.

Doing a little bit more research on the subject, I'm shocked to read that sharks are still fished in Britain and we're only one of five EU members to allow fins to be removed at sea. Apparently 80 tonnes is landed every year. I had no idea that this was happening. I suppose it's for export purposes because British people don't tend to eat things like sharks. Instead people eat cod, mackrell and salmon along with a few others.

Another thing that upsets me about sealife disapearing is the fact that us humans don't really see them that much. It's a case of "out of sight out of mind." Also, unlike other animals such as tigers and zebras, we can't put a lot of these big fish into zoos due to their size. It's so sad. I wish we could live in a different world where people cared more about wildlife and less about money.