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Reyka Vodka Wants To Save The Puffins

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Ali Wunderman

Few things are as iconic to Iceland as the Atlantic Puffin, a diminutive seabird known for its colorful beak and unrivaled cuteness. Right now scores of puffins are settling into the bird cliffs at Látrabjarg in Iceland’s Westfjords region, laying their eggs and preparing to raise their chicks in the relative warmth of the upcoming summer. Yet puffin numbers are declining worldwide, which is why Icelandic-distilled Reyka Vodka is on a mission to onboard their consumers to the cause with the new Adopt-a-Puffin campaign.

Reyka has partnered with the National Audubon Society, an avian advocacy organization in the United States, where the the loss of puffin populations is most strongly felt. In line with the typical colonial settler approach to resources of the New World, puffins and their eggs were consumed with no quarter for hundreds of years, and when eating them fell out of fashion, their feathers were harvested to decorate hats.  

Reyka Vodka

Yet hats are a path to preserving precious puffins: between April 18th and early fall of 2019, puffin -- and vodka -- aficionados can lend their support to the endangered birds by “adopting” a puffin on Reyka Vodka's website, or by purchasing puffin-themed pins, t-shirts, and of course hats via Reyka’s online store. These donations, which range between $1 and $50, go directly to the National Audubon Society’s Project Puffin, the world’s leading initiative for puffin preservation.

“Recent declines in populations and nesting success have led to [puffins] receiving world status of Threatened and Endangered in Europe by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),” the National Audubon Society explains. Project Puffin began in 1973 “in an effort to learn how to restore puffins to historic nesting islands in the Gulf of Maine,” and outside of Maine these efforts address global puffin decline, as well as applying restoration methods to any other seabird species that may need it. Funds raised by Adopt-a-Puffin will directly further this work.

Restrictions and moratoriums on puffin hunting do their part, but the force of climate change is especially brutal towards wildlife -- like puffins -- that evolved in fragile ecosystems and don’t adapt well to the rapid environmental fluctuations the planet is experiencing. “Since Reyka Vodka is made of Iceland, and puffins are an integral part of Icelandic culture, it’s important for us as a brand to help puffins in any way we can,” says Trevor Schneider, Brand Ambassador for Reyka. By becoming puffin parents through Adopt-a-Puffin, “Reyka Vodka drinkers [can] make a difference.”

Ali Wunderman

Reyka acknowledges that puffins are still consumed as food in Iceland, and while they are unable to comment on Icelanders’ food choices, a spokesperson assures that “Reyka does not use or harm puffins in any aspect.” They are hoping this program will raise awareness of puffins' potential extinction, awareness which can lead to consumers making different dining decisions when visiting Iceland, since it’s predominantly tourists that eat the seabird. Not eating puffins is one of the easiest ways to help them survive. 

Wildlife extinction is swift and devastating, making news in that realm heartbreaking to hear. Adopting a puffin may not solve the puffin problem entirely, but becoming an official Puffin Daddy or Mother of Puffins is a refreshingly fun take on keeping the world’s biodiversity alive.

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