Global Justice for Animals faxed this letter to every member of Congress:

 

Letter in Opposition to Oman Free Trade Agreement from 28 Animal Protection Organizations

 

We, the undersigned animal rights and animal welfare organizations are writing to express our opposition to the Oman Free Trade Agreement. This agreement poses a serious threat to the welfare of nonhuman animals, including farmed animals, marine animals, and terrestrial wildlife, as well as to human health and the environment. 

 

Marine Life Threatened by Expanded Fishing and Coastal Development 

 

OFTA provides to foreign investors, including subsidiaries of US corporations, greater rights in Oman than they are granted according to US law. It allows multinational corporations to challenge US government decisions about any federal contracts with the company, including natural resource contracts, service contracts, and infrastructure projects. This provision essentially ensures US corporations and their subsidiaries the right to unchecked, destructive development in Oman. 

 

Oman is home to five species of endangered sea turtles, and an estimated 30,000 loggerhead sea turtles nest on Masirah Island, Oman. Uncontrolled development has already led to the disturbance and destruction of beaches that serve as vital nesting, foraging and feeding locations for a variety of species of sea turtles. Artificial lighting on the beaches may disorient hatchlings, drawing them away from the ocean, and vehicle traffic on beaches compresses the sand, making nest building difficult or impossible. One solution to this problem is placing limits on the number of businesses to limit the negative impact of development projects including oil drilling, hotels, resorts and waste incinerators. Yet such limits are specifically prohibited under OFTA.

 

In addition, Oman has not signed on to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which regulates international trade in wildlife. However, according to CITES reports, Oman is home to 24 species of animals that are threatened with extinction and 189 additional species whose trade must be closely controlled for their survival. The animals threatened with extinction include the desert lynx, the Arabian oryx and the Indo-Pacific Humpbacked dolphin, as well as leopards, grey wolves, urials, ostriches, monitor lizards, manatees, four species of whales, five species of birds, and five species of sea turtles. These include the green turtle, the hawksbill turtle, which is also listed on the World Conservation Union’s Red List of critically endangered species, the loggerhead turtle, the olive ridley turtle, and the leatherback turtle. Oman currently provides critical habitat to only two of the five species of sea turtles that live on its shores, and there is no provision of OFTA that mandates the animals’ protection in the future.

 

Destructive fishing is also a serious concern, as a source of habitat destruction for sea turtles and other marine animals. Humpback whales, sea turtles, and critically endangered sawfish and shark species are all seriously threatened by entanglement in fishing nets and accidental hooking. As larger enterprises sweep through the seas with their larger nets, sea turtles become entangled in them and drown when they cannot reach the surface; loggerhead turtles are highly migratory, and leatherbacks, of which just 2,300 adults are thought to remain, do not dive very deep, leaving them especially vulnerable to fishers.

 

 

 

Weak Environmental Protections  

 

The trade agreement with Oman does not require either country to abide by any set of minimum environmental standards, nor does it mandate any form of sanctions for breaching key environmental treaties on biodiversity and species protection.  It does, however, reinforce the trade rules in previous agreements which allow corporations to sue governments for lost profit if they believe a law, be it environmental or animal welfare, has hindered their ability to trade. Tribunals can demand payment from governments for upholding their own laws and expose the country to trade sanctions until the laws are changed to comply with the tribunal’s ruling. The Oman agreement, like other trade agreements before it, continues to put corporate profits above the interests of humans, animals, and the environment.   

 

We ask that all members of Congress recognize nonhuman animals as stakeholders when weighing the costs of this agreement.  Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”  Our nation must apply this principle to matters of international trade as well as domestic policy and members of Congress must vote NO! to this inhumane agreement. 

 

For a Humane World,

 

National Organizations

CIVITAS-USA, POB 26, Swain, NY 14884

Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting, PO Box 561, New Paltz, NY 12561

Farm Animal Reform Movement, 10101 Asburton La., Bethesda MD 20817

Farm Sanctuary, P.O. Box 150 Watkins Glen, NY 14891

Humane Farming Association, PO Box 3577, San Rafael, CA 94912

Jews for Animal Rights, 255 Humphrey St., Marblehead, MA 01945

Jewish Vegetarians of North America, 6938 Reliance Rd., Federalsburg MD 21632

League of Humane Voters USA, P.O. Box 922, New Paltz, NY 12561

National Humane Education Society (NHES), P.O. Box 340, Charles Town, WV 25414

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 501 Front Street, Norfolk, VA

United Poultry Concerns, 12325 Seaside Rd., Machipongo, VA 23405

Vegan Research Institute, 185 South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Voice for a Viable Future, 200 N Pickett Street, Alexandria, VA 22304

Viva! USA, Suite 912, 1123 Broadway, New York,. NY 10011

Wildlife Watch, PO Box 561, New Paltz, NY 12561

 

Local Organizations

AESOP Project [Allied Effort to Save Other Primates], 511 Beryl Dr., San Antonio TX 78213

Animal Acres, 5200 Escondido Canyon Rd., Acton CA 93510

Animal Advocates of the Inland Northwest, P.O. Box 493, Liberty Lake, WA 99019
Animal Protection of New Mexico, Inc, P.O. Box 11395, Albq., NM 87192 

Animal Protection Voters, P.O. Box 11651, Albq., NM 87192

California Animal Defense & Anti-Vivisection League, P.O. Box 3047, Gardena, CA 90247

Eastern Shore Sanctuary and Education Center, 13981 Reading Ferry, Princess Anne MD 21853

Rattle the Cage Productions, 1126 S. Federal Hwy., #288, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

San Diego Animal Advocates, 4639 30th Street, Suite A, San Diego CA 92116

Southern California Vegetarians, Los Angeles, CA

Voice for Animals, P.O. Box 522, York ME 03909

Voice for Animals Humane Society, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada  T6C 4N6

Wetlands Activism Collective, P.O. Box 344, New York, NY 10108

 

(Three additional groups: Coalition to Protect Animals in Parks, The Ful-Mont Veg Group, Inc., and Refuges and Responsible Policies for Animals called to express their support after the letter was faxed to Congress)