Special Message from Allison Lance, Founder and President

Dear Galapagos Preservation Society Supporter,             

I’m writing to thank you for your support of Galapagos Preservation Society (GPS) — and to let you about a number of critically important issues that we’ll work on together in 2011.

Although I have slowly become accustomed to seeing less and less wildlife on my visits to Galapagos over the years, during my last trip this past summer, the lack of wildness struck me profoundly. Instead of iguanas basking in the sun, I saw people walking the streets, car horns honking, and dogs either darting between cars or chained in the blistering sun.  Instead of hearing native birds chirping in the morning, I awoke to roosters crowing.  

It wasn’t always easy and we had some battles with local officials and customs agents, but with the help of local volunteers, Danielle and I built a fence for a chained dog, spoke to children at four schools and rescued two cats and three dogs.  We made in roads with the local government and spoke to ship captains who agreed that smuggling animals into Galapagos is wrong. We were only able to do this through your generosity and support.

As many of you know, I began rescuing and re-homing street dogs and cats from islands all over the world in 1997, when I worked for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.  In 2004, I traveled to the Galapagos to spay and neuter dogs and cats, and rescued a dog-named Kiki from San Cristobal Island.  Kiki was infamous among the fishermen for terrorizing and preying on land iguanas.  Since 2004, I have rescued dozens of homeless dogs and cats off the Galapagos and re-homed them in the United States.   I started GPS so I could address the problem of street dogs and cats in Galapagos in a more comprehensive way.

Earlier this year, I hired Danielle Thompson, a lawyer and seasoned activist with experience in campaigning and development. Danielle and I met a few years ago when we both worked on a Sea Shepherd campaign in Tokyo to educate the public about the dangers of eating mercury-contaminated whale and dolphin meat.

Together we have established a program in the Galapagos to provide free fences to residents who own dogs that they either chain or let roam freely.  This is a win-win project that improves the welfare of island dogs and protects rare and unique wildlife. 

We are teaching local children about the importance of protecting the wildlife and biological diversity of the extremely special place where they live.  Danielle and I are encouraging and subsidizing the sterilization of dogs and cats.  We are also continuing our pioneering work to remove strays from the Galapagos and find new homes for them off island on the mainland of Ecuador or in the United States.

We could not have achieved this much without your support! Together, we have made real progress to protect wildlife and improve animal welfare in the Galapagos Islands. But despite our progress, the battle against extinction, the loss of biodiversity and animal cruelty goes on!

As long as we see more street dogs than iguanas — as long as Huskies are being bred for sale, as long as wildlife continues to be threatened— the battle will go on.

With your help, GPS is fighting in the Galapagos and will not quit until the islands’ native wildlife and biological diversity is no longer under siege – that means mandatory sterilization for dogs and cat, strict enforcement of the law against importing animals into the Galapagos, and the prohibition on breeding of dogs and cats. Not a minute before!

But to achieve our goals, we must make considerable progress in the coming year.  That’s why I’m seeking your active participation and support today in an important way: 

Help GPS start the year strong.  Help us hit the ground running in the new year –– to build on our successes in fighting to protect wildlife and improve animal welfare–– by giving GPS a generous tax-deductible, year-end gift.  

With the lives of countless animals and the future of one of the most diverse and intact ecosystems in the world in the balance, GPS depends on support from loyal friends like you to fuel our work to save lives.

Look at what we’ve accomplished so far in 2010 by working together!

· Found homes for a dozen dogs and cats who would otherwise being living on the streets of Galapagos. 

· Protected countless Galapagos tortoises, marine and land iguanas, lava lizards, rare Darwin finches from being preyed upon by free roaming dogs and cats.

· Built fences for dogs who would otherwise be condemned to a grim life on the end of short chain. 

· Educated hundreds of Galapagos schoolchildren about the importance of taking care of the unique ecosystem they have the privilege of living in.

Together, we can continue to save animals and to change hearts and minds in the Galapagos Islands. But to build on these successes in 2010 — to save more lives — I need to know that GPS can count on your continued personal commitment to our cause. 

As you can imagine, working on an archipelago nearly a thousand miles from the coast of Ecuador is a costly endeavor, but we know that you agree our work is absolutely vital if we want to save one of the world’s most unique and threatened ecosystems.  And rest assured, unlike many organizations, our budget doesn’t go to fancy offices, high-flying executives, or relentless fund-raising appeals. We don’t get large grants or corporate donations. We depend on you. Your financial support goes directly to our work on the ground in the Galapagos. Each fence costs approximately $500.00, each sterilization costs around $50.00, each adoption costs $400.  But the lives of these animals and the biological diversity of the Galapagos is truly priceless. 

Without your help we simply won’t have the resources we need to build fences for every one of the chained and free-roaming dogs, sterilize every dog and cat we can find, halt the illegal import of purebreds and protect the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands.          

Thank you again for all you’ve done to kick start GPS’s vital work in the Galapagos last year— and for all I know we’ll accomplish working together in 2011. To make a tax-deductible year-end gift to GPS, you can do so securely here.

Sincerely,

Allison Lance

President and Founder

P.S. Please read what founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Captain Paul Watson has to say about GPS’s vital work in the Galapagos!