There has been a lot of talk in the media as of late about banning Shark Fin soup from restaurants. In Toronto, city councillors have been trying to have the soup banned, and it’s also very close to being banned throughout California.
The problem with shark fin soup
Shark fin soup is treated as a delicacy in China, where as you can see in the video below, people will pay up to £90 (over $130 USD) for a bowl of soup which has been flavoured with a shark fin. However, it’s the process of collecting the shark fins which is most disturbing. Fishermen throughout the world capture the sharks, slice off their fins, and then throw the animal back in the water to die a slow death.
And according to Gordon Ramsay, one of the world’s top chefs, it doesn’t even taste like anything.
Gordon Ramsay eating shark fin soup
Watch the video below to see Ramsay tasting shark fin soup for the first time, and investigating the source of the fins and the industry surrounding the Chinese delicacy. Warning: there is EXTREMELY graphic content, and it’s Gordon Ramsay, which means the language is definitely NSFW.
As Ramsay says himself in the video, the finning of sharks is “the worst act of animal cruelty [he has] ever seen.”
Petitions to ban shark fin soup
Not everyone has the same influence as Gordon Ramsay, allowing them to speak to a group of restaurant owners and convince them to ban shark fin soup from their menu. But you can still do your part.
Change.org has dozens of petitions to ban shark fin soup and SharkTrust.org has many great resources for adopting sharks, donating to save sharks, and finding out more about shark protection and conservation around the world.
