Thanks for conservation coverage

Thank you for dedicating your entire Aug. 30 Travel section to protecting wildlife and promoting eco-tourism, as opposed to trophy hunting.

Each article in the “Game On” package was informative and compassionate, and I really appreciate your taking a stance for true conservation.

I am sure you will get some nasty letters because of this particular section and your stance on these important issues, but you took a stand to try to save them for future generations of us to enjoy and, more important, to save them because they are part of the magnificence of this diverse planet and deserve their rightful place on it.

Patty Shenker

Tarzana

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Your readers must also be made aware of the cruelty inflicted on elephants that underlie popular travel adventures involving riding on and bathing with elephants in Thailand and India, and the use of elephants at various religious and other festivals in India, the so-called elephant tourism.

They would be utterly appalled at the cruel “training” these animals endure and the abuse inflicted on them, all designed to make money for their owners and mahouts.

Readers with a strong stomach must read the well-documented article by Liz Jones of the Daily Mail: www.lat.ms/1JECsap.

Once they know the truth, readers will never consider spending one dime to enable these unspeakably cruel practices, which persist because the perpetrators make money from them.

Consumers want to know that their food is responsibly sourced, that their clothes weren’t made in sweatshops and that they aren’t unknowingly contributing financially to practices that they would abhor if they knew of them.

Laura J. Meltzer

West Hollywood

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Sunday’s Travel Weekend Escape article on Los Ojos and Chama, N.M., [“It’s Blessed With Glorious Solitude,” Aug. 30] brought back both wonderful and horrific memories of this hauntingly beautiful countryside.

After a wonderful weeklong workshop in Creede, Colo., where my partner and I painted with a master watercolorist, we ventured down the breathtaking San Juan Mountains, stopping to take in the majestic sights. We had an appointment in Abiquiú, N.M., to tour Georgia O’Keeffe’s home, so we made our way down Highway 84 through the Chama Valley.

Seemingly out of nowhere, two deer leapt out, landing atop the hood of our rental car. I slammed on the brakes, watching in what seemed like slow motion. The deer died.

This apparently isn’t uncommon along this stretch of highway. Since then, I have wondered why car rental companies don’t provide information and warnings and instruct drivers on what to do if they hit one.

Towns close to places where lots of deer live should erect billboards that encourage drivers to proceed with caution if they spot a deer. A small yellow deer crossing sign is not enough.

It’s time we all become more aware of the responsibility we have to care for the environment and our animal population by passing on basic information to ensure that memories of our travels are warm, joyful and safe for all.

Cylvia Santillan

Redondo Beach