Hong Kongers Say No to Shark Fin Soup

Hong Kong is responsible for importing 277 million US dollars worth of sharks fin in 2007, making it the largest importer of sharks fin in the world.

 

However, there is hope, almost 80% of Hong Kongers interviewed in a poll have stated they would be happy to keep sharks fin off the menu for their wedding.

Sharks fin soup is considered a delicacy, and is usually consumed during wedding banquets and special occasions. Many young couples are pressured into having sharks fin soup at their wedding, as a traditional dish that indicates a family's wealth and prosperity.

It also has a huge role to play in the dramatic decrease and almost collapse of some shark species populations. Some sharks have been hunted to near extinction, with less great white sharks then tigers in the world. As a slow to mature and slow to reproduce species, sharks are particularly vulnerable to over fishing.

 

BLOOM, a non-profit organisation that interviewed 1,000 people between 2009-2010, found that 85% would also support a ban on fin imports. Worryingly, 70% admitted they ate the soup at least once a year, despite 2/3 saying they felt uncomfortable eating an endangered fish.

 

Recently sharks fin soup has been making the news, with many non-governmental organizations campaigning for a ban on the dish, with some success; many countries have imposed regulations on the practice of finning, importing fins without the rest of the carcass, with countries like Malaysia banning it from governmental functions. Hawaii became the first state to ban the possession of fins.

Trade in Endangered Animals Still Rife in South East Asia

More news from TRAFFIC; a live tiger cub was found concealed in a woman’s luggage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Sunday. The tiger was sedated and hidden amongst stuffed toy tigers.

Airport staff suspicions were aroused when the bag went through the sensors and the x-ray showed an image of a cat’s beating heart and other organs. Tests of the tiger DNA are currently being conducted to determine the tiger’s origin and sub species, which will determine whether it was wild caught, or captive born.

Tiger Cub Found at Bangkok's Airport, Sulma Warne-TRAFFIC

While over in Vietnam, a massive seizure of wildlife from restaurants was conducted by the Lam Dong Forest Protection Department (FPD). A huge co-ordinated campaign involving over 100 officers from the province investigated restaurants suspected of selling illegal wildlife based on results from a survey that found that 44 restaurants and 33 Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) shops (representing 68% restaurants and 21% TCM shop visited) were serving wildlife.

Civets Found During the Raid. ZooNews Digest

A huge number of animals and animal parts were found, over 300kg of meat from animals including civets, pangolins, porcupine, mouse deer, bear paws, clouded leopard, short-clawed otter, leopard cat, binturong, and small Indian civet. These animals were destined to end up on the plates of customers at the restaurants.

Langurs and Other Animals Seized. ZooNews Digest

The two findings this week indicate that the illegal wildlife trade is still going strong in South East Asia, and with the tiger heading for Iran, the trade is not just staying in South East Asia. Although it is fantastic that the raids occurred, and the staff at the airport were quick witted enough to spot the tiger amongst the toys, it shows that people will still try to smuggle animals, dead or alive, and will continue to poach them unless something is done to really act as a preventative.