Is shark fin soup unethical?

Is shark fin soup unethical?

Shark finning is a practice that involves cutting off the fins of a shark—and in most cases dumping them back into the water to suffer through a slow and unethical death. More than 70 million sharks are caught each year to end up in the relentless hands of the shark finning industry.

Why is eating shark bad?

Shark meat has been shown to carry levels of toxic metals such as mercury that far exceed what is allowable for human consumption. A recent article demonstrates that sharks can also carry the dangerous and often fatal marine toxin ciguatoxin.

Did China ban shark fin?

The biggest importer and consumer of sharks are now banning shark fin soup! This Might be The Best News All Year! China’s government has, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, made a list of 420 endangered species that is no longer legal to consume, import or sell.

Why is shark fin soup so popular in China?

Shark finning kills about 73 million of these animals each year just so we can make shark fin soup, a traditional dish that remains popular despite sometimes being toxic. An ancient Chinese dish that’s said to signify prosperity, shark fin soup remains a coveted meal to this day throughout many regions around the globe.

How many sharks are killed by shark fin soup?

In reality, shark fin soup is nothing to celebrate. Sharks have many more reasons to fear us than we do them. Humans kill 100 million sharks annually. Many have their fins sliced off and are discarded back into the ocean still alive. Shark finning is cruel and unsustainable.

How much does a pound of shark fin soup cost?

The popularity of shark fin soup has made shark fins a valuable commodity. Fishermen can sell fins for as much as $500 a pound, sometimes even more. To meet the market demand for this expensive ingredient, fishermen who engage in shark finning typically slice off the shark’s dorsal fin and throw the rest of the animal’s body back into the sea.

Why is shark finning cruel and unsustainable?

Shark finning is cruel and unsustainable. We must act quickly to protect these animals, whose populations are in steep decline. Sharks thrown back into the oceans after being finned die in agony from suffocation, blood loss or predation. Sharks are apex predators and play a vital role in maintaining marine ecosystems.