Is Shark Fin Soup Worth Committing Genocide On One Of The Oldest Living Creatures On Earth?

By Dan Wilson

Bob Timmons, an artist, vegan and animal rights activist, spoke about ocean life at the Niagara Action for Animals Vegan Potluck Friday night in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Bob Timmons, artist and advocate for marine life, speaks in Niagara. Photo by Dan Wilson.

Timmons, who is based in Toronto, was in town to raise awareness of the plight of sea animals, including sharks, which are being slaughtered by the millions for the shark fin trade.

According to Timmons, 90 million sharks are fished every year, with 80 per cent of the shark fins going to Hong Kong. Many shark species are on the verge of extinction because of over-fishing and shark fining, the practice of catching sharks, cutting off their fins and throwing them back in the water to drown.

Both The Peanut Mill and Well, Well, Well in St. Catharines discontinued selling shark fin products last year after receiving letters of concern from the public. The Golden Lotus at the Fallsview Casino continues to serve a number of shark fin dishes.

 Approximately 50 people attended Friday night’s potluck.

They are held on the first Friday of every month at the Unitarian Congregation of St. Catharines. For more information, please go to:  www.niagaraactionforanimals.org .

To view Bob Timmons’ marine life paintings, you can visit: www.bobtimmons.org.

In a recent article Timmons wrote for Niagara At Large on the subject of shark finning which, in a few words involves catching these creatures, hacking their fins off and throwing their bleeding bodies back in the sea to die, he noted that there are no laws on the books internationally to prevent this brutal practice – setting the stage for sharks to “be removed from the planet after surviving nearly 400 million years!”

Tiger shark were it belongs, in the wild and with fins. Photo courtesy of Amanda Cotton. http://www.acotton.com

“Sharks are directly related to the health of the ocean that in turn is directly related to the health of the planet.

 Over the last three decades, 90 per cent of the sharks have been removed from the ocean making its natural balance unhealthy and the results are startling, he added, and sadly enough the European Union, which has had a pretty good record of opposing the exploitation of animals for the fur trade, is a major supplier of shark fins to countries like Hong Kong, where shark fin soup is a delicacy.

“A shark alive is much more important than a bowl of soup to keep the oceans healthy,” Timmons concluded in the article.

(Click on  www.niagaraatlarge.com  for more news and commentary from Niagara At Large of issues of interest and concern to our binational Niagara region.)