Sharon Feinstein

Wendy Herron formed SOS Tobago nine years ago to combat the threats facing endangered leatherback turtles – the poaching for meat, eggs, and shells ; coastal development ; entanglement in fishing nets.
Whilst she was in Tobago her organisation patrolled the three primary leatherback nesting beaches, worked with local guides and hotels to reduce the impact of uncontrolled tourism on the beaches, and tried to educate the island’s communities about the importance of conservation.
Since she resigned, I feel this is no longer an effective organisation with any real achievements or track record. Consequently the leatherbacks continue to suffer enormously, without any co-ordinated rescue operations in place.
I tracked Wendy down to the US and told her about my Campaign, with my cousin, Andre, a vet and scientist, and local conservationist based in Tobago, Peter Cox.
This is her response.
Sharon, I just went to your website; impressive. Your turtle pages are informative & accurate. Hopefully the British tourists who flock to the culpable hotels will visit your site. You have stirred up many memories that break my heart and I will send another email to you in a few days to give you my thoughts.
I was particularly taken by the fact that you included a bit about Captain Paul Watson. He answered my call for help in 2001. I will be back in touch in a few days when I have had time to compose my thoughts. Thanks for your help with the “Ladies”, they certainly need it.
Best regards, Wendy Herron
Please support this, without the ancient sea creatures who eat jellyfish and contribute to the vital balance of the oceans, our seas will all die, and we will become extinct. We cannot live without the oceans and we need to save these creatures of the sea, instead of focusing our lives on our own gains.
Go to my website and make a donation, however small, and send me an awareness and support e mail, each and every one will ultimately be helpful to who Wendy Herron calls ‘ the ladies, ‘ the majestic nesting leatherback turtles www.sharonfeinstein.co.uk/turtles

Everyone who donated to the turtle Campaign so far will hopefully be pleased to know that some of that money has been spent on buying a 15 inch Dell laptop for Peter Cox, an environmentalist and leatherback turtle devotee for the past 30 years. It was Peter who first told me about the plight of the Leatherbacks in Tobago five years ago and on each visit after that he talked about his heartbreaking attempts to stop this butchery. Now he has joined forces with me and vet, Andre Menasche, to involve local youth groups in Tobago in building awareness of the need to protect the precious, endangered leatherbacks and try to stop the slaughter.
Peter has had no computer, and has had to rely on internet cafes on the island to keep in touch with us and other Turtle carers in Britain and the US. I am satisfied that this is an important asset for the turtle work and hope you will agree that it is your money reasonably spent. Thank you again for making it possible. Anyone else who wants to donate please do so at www.sharonfeinstein.co.uk and then Help Turtles.

It was really surreal being in the north of Thailand on my mobile first thing in the morning, talking to animal rights campaigner, Heather Mills, from America, nine at night her time, about my Campaign to stop the Slaughter of Leatherback turtles in Tobago. There I was in the middle of the rice paddies and mountains of the East talking about a tragedy taking place in the West indies, to millions of Americans.
Get your head around that one. Heather Mills, who is tireless in the battle to protect animals, extended an invitation to interview me on a show she was hosting on Air America, about my efforts to stop the atrocities against one of the world’s oldest, most vulnerable and magnificent creatures, the leatherback turtle.
I was after Richard Branson, whose Virgin planes fly to Tobago, and let’s hope that was fortuitous as he could certainly lean on the government there to better enforce the international laws protecting endangered species. You can listen to my rather muffled interview with Heather, and hopefully it will inspire you to visit my turtles webpage and do something, anything, to help save the leatherback turtles.

I’m in ChiangMai in the north of Thailand, hot, exotic, mystical. The mountains are all around, and our hotel is set amongst the rice paddies. In fact I was on a water buffalo today while he flicked his ears and looked totally dulled out. The exciting news is that I was interviewed by Heather Mills on Air America radio the other morning. It was the Hollywood Clout show talking about the planet, environment and animal welfare. She had Richard Branson on and me, guys, so let’s hope someone out there listened. It was about my campaign to help Leatherback Turtles which is running on my website, www.sharonfeinstein.co.uk. Have you been on yet, have you registered your support and donated something if you possibly can. Even letters and comments are helpful as they’ll all be compiled in the report which will be taken to the government of Trinidad and Tobago. Thanks to Heather for interviewing me and giving me the chance to reach all those millions of Americans. And thanks to everyone who wants to help me stop the slaughter of leatherback turtles, those magnificent 150 million year old creatures from the deepest ocean who might be at the end of their line because of us, the most dangerous predator on the planet.