Campaign to ban the sale of shark fins
Calls to ban shark fin soup growing around the world – The Independent
Did you know? An estimated 73 million sharks are killed annually to supply Chinese consumers with shark fin soup – a prized delicacy in China. Yes, that’s 73 MILLION every year. Conservation groups say one-third of the world’s shark species are now threatened with extinction. According to the United Nations Environment Program, the shark populations have plunged by 90 per cent in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea and by 75 per cent in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean within 15 years. This is an atrocity, an unmitigated slaughter in the seas for our own selfish gratification.
“The chorus of condemnation on the shark fin trade is growing louder around the world, with plans to bring the anti-finning campaign to Canada. Currently, California is considering banning the sale and distribution of shark fins, the key ingredient to a Chinese delicacy. If passed, California would join Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, and the US Territory of Guam in enacting a ban. Palau, the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as Honduras and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, have also passed similar protections for the endangered predators.”
Hooray. It’s about time.
