On the topic of Shark Fin Soup again... these images might change your attitude =o

[fuji]

...
The International Union for Conservation of Nature says a third of all shark species are threatened with extinction.

I agree that biodiversity is important and we should take steps to protect endangered species. To the extent that sharks may go extinct because of the practice, that should be stopped. We owe it to our great grandchildren to hand them down a world that is as rich and full of resources and wealth as we can manage.

But outside that, in terms of eating and consuming species that are NOT threatened with extinction--why not? Everything on the planet exists for us to take advantage from and benefit from, animals exist to serve us in whatever way we see fit. Preventing the extinction of a species is something that we must do for our own selfish reasons only.

 

[nuprin001]

but we don't chop their snouts off, then throw them in a pile to let bleed or suffocate to death...
when they hunt sharks that is essentially what they do... chop the 3 fins off, then throw them back to let them bleed out and sink, essentially drowning...
at the VERY least... if you're going to hunt shark, use the whole shark...

Eh.

Have a lobster dinner lately? Or try the delicious Cajun crawdads? With both, you're boiling an animal alive just so you can eat its tail. And it's claws for the lobster, but let's face it: if the lobster just had claw meat, we wouldn't bother. It's that succulent, tasty tail meat that we kill those animals for.

I'm not saying killing sharks like that is okay. For me, it isn't. But I don't give a damn about animal cruelty: I care whether the harvesting is sustainable or not. And while the numbers aren't definitive, they're at least suggestive that shark hunting as is simply isn't sustainable. Combine that with the inevitable increase in demand as China becomes richer and Chinese status climbers buy more and more of it, and China's general disregard for things like international fishing quotas and the like (not that anybody else really follows them, but most countries at least pretend), and sharks are likely to see some drastic population declines in the near future.

And even then, for me, it's not from some hippie environmental thing. But losing sharks means we lose the knowledge they represent. We lose the information their genes have, that could someday be useful to us all. I have no problems with genmod. I just don't think we have the technology right just yet.

 

[Petzel]

The Chinese aren't the only ones doing stupid things. Us Canadians and Americans take our genetically modified cows and pigs, grind them up into small bits and stuff it into a wrapper. Then we wonder why we are fat, have high cholesterol and develop cancer. On top of that, we wonder why ground beef and pork gets recalled from the grocery store.

The Chinese are the ones slaughtering the sharks for a so called delicacy. They also support poaching and slaughtering of rhinos because of some stupid old wives tale that says ground rhino horn enhances male viriluty, which has been proven scientificully unfounded. I've even heard they eat domesticated pets such as dogs and cats. Is there not already enough variety of foods to eat that they resort to these practises?

 

[Cobra Enorme]

yet govts around the world are going after illegal downloading of copywritten movies instead of this. Sharks need lobbyists so they can bribe politicians.

Im thinking this guy

 

[Petzel]

The movie 'Food Inc' is a good start.

That's the documentary that was on PBS, right?

 

[explorerzip]

The Chinese are the ones slaughtering the sharks for a so called delicacy. They also support poaching and slaughtering of rhinos because of some stupid old wives tale that says ground rhino horn enhances male viriluty, which has been proven scientificully unfounded. I've even heard they eat domesticated pets such as dogs and cats. Is there not already enough variety of foods to eat that they resort to these practises?

North Americans are slaughtering plenty of cows, pigs, chickens too for the BBQ'd 'delicacies' we call hamburgers, bacon, and chicken wings. Like I said before, we're stuffing these animals with chemicals, hormones and genetically modifying them to meet our demands. Some people shoot animals (deer, foxes, wolves, etc.) cut off the head or stuff the dead animal and mount it on their living room wall. And some people skin the fur off of dead animals and wear as clothing. And us North Americans are more 'civilized' than the Chinese?

They probably do eat cats and dogs, but less so in the Westernised parts like Hong Kong. The parts of China that do eat cats and dogs are breeding them for that purpose just as we breed pigs, cows, and chickens to eat. And in many parts of India they don't eat cows.

If we're going to look down at the Chinese in disgust with this practice of shark finning then we have to look at what we're doing to animals over here. We're not a whole lot more humane even though we're just 'farming' animals. We're just so removed from the act of killing animals that when you see someone doing the same with sharks its suddenly 'wrong' and 'shocking.'

 

[dcbogey]

Eh.

Have a lobster dinner lately? Or try the delicious Cajun crawdads? With both, you're boiling an animal alive just so you can eat its tail. And it's claws for the lobster, but let's face it: if the lobster just had claw meat, we wouldn't bother. It's that succulent, tasty tail meat that we kill those animals for.

If that's what you think a lobster dinner is, you haven't really "eaten" lobster.

 

[jazzpig]

The Chinese aren't the only ones doing stupid things. Us Canadians and Americans take our genetically modified cows and pigs, grind them up into small bits and stuff it into a wrapper. Then we wonder why we are fat, have high cholesterol and develop cancer. On top of that, we wonder why ground beef and pork gets recalled from the grocery store.

It's not the meat that is the problem, it's the the processing of the meat.
We're starting to run into the same problems with vegetable processing and handling with ecoli.
Do you suggest we stop eating vegetables.

 

[jazzpig]

North Americans are slaughtering plenty of cows, pigs, chickens too for the BBQ'd 'delicacies' we call hamburgers, bacon, and chicken wings. Like I said before, we're stuffing these animals with chemicals, hormones and genetically modifying them to meet our demands. Some people shoot animals (deer, foxes, wolves, etc.) cut off the head or stuff the dead animal and mount it on their living room wall. And some people skin the fur off of dead animals and wear as clothing. And us North Americans are more 'civilized' than the Chinese?

They probably do eat cats and dogs, but less so in the Westernised parts like Hong Kong. The parts of China that do eat cats and dogs are breeding them for that purpose just as we breed pigs, cows, and chickens to eat. And in many parts of India they don't eat cows.

If we're going to look down at the Chinese in disgust with this practice of shark finning then we have to look at what we're doing to animals over here. We're not a whole lot more humane even though we're just 'farming' animals. We're just so removed from the act of killing animals that when you see someone doing the same with sharks its suddenly 'wrong' and 'shocking.'

The issue of genetically modifying meat sources and treating them with hormones is all together separate from the perceived moral issue of eating animals,
which seems to be your bone of contention.
I agree that we are inhumane, in large part, in the way we farm and slaughter much of our meat source.
The portrayal of the killing and consumption of beef, pork and chicken, as slaughter for delicacies, is completely disingenuous, or at the very least, ludicrous.
Barbequing is not a delicacy. it's a method of preparation.
We don't kill chickens, just for the wings and discard the rest of the animal.
Every milligram of the animal(meat, bone, organs) is used for consumption.

The reality is that there is a food chain, and we are part of it.
Just because it's now skewed heavily in our favour, doesn't negate the reality of the food chain.
We are so far removed from the so many of the realities of life, not just killing animals, that we lose sight of what we are in the big scheme of things.
I have no problem with the marketing of bear bladders.
I have a problem with killing bears ONLY for the bladders and not using the rest of the animal for good purpose.

 

[blackrock13]

The issue of genetically modifying meat sources and treating them with hormones is all together separate from the perceived moral issue of eating animals,
which seems to be your bone of contention.
I agree that we are inhumane, in large part, in the way we farm and slaughter much of our meat source.
The portrayal of the killing and consumption of beef, pork and chicken, as slaughter for delicacies, is completely disingenuous, or at the very least, ludicrous.
Barbequing is not a delicacy. it's a method of preparation.
We don't kill chickens, just for the wings and discard the rest of the animal.
Every milligram of the animal(meat, bone, organs) is used for consumption.

The reality is that there is a food chain, and we are part of it.
Just because it's now skewed heavily in our favour, doesn't negate the reality of the food chain.
We are so far removed from the so many of the realities of life, not just killing animals, that we lose sight of what we are in the big scheme of things.
I have no problem with the marketing of bear bladders.
I have a problem with killing bears ONLY for the bladders and not using the rest of the animal for good purpose.

Wow, a post from someone who actually breaths while they post. Well said.

 

[pointz]

I think the main difference between sharks and farmed animals is that we really don't know how many sharks are out there. Seeing how we've depleted some other marine species, the practice of killing millions of sharks a year to make soup that tastes like nothing special is probably unwise. Yes, the tradition is centuries old. However, we haven't done that on such industrial scale in the past due to obvious technology limitations. Now we have better boats, better fishing gear, etc. It's completely different game now and the whole tradition argument should not be used anymore.

 

[Onelongfinger]

Following tradition is just plain stupid. Just because your ancestors did something thousands of years ago does not mean we have to keep repeating it. They can eat something with similar taste yet do not need to kill something needlessly. To me, this is just idiotic. We can progress and don't need to love in the past.

 

[pointz]

We also don't know what's going to happen to the ocean when we eliminate/nearly eliminate its apex predator. It will significantly disrupt the balance in all marine life and we may not be happy with the outcome. There's just too many unknowns and we cannot afford to mindlessly keep covering rooftops with shark fins. Perhaps if they like their soup that much they should try farming sharks on their own territory vs destroying the ocean for everybody.

 

[BSLover]

Either you're ok with how humans treat animals, or you're not. Just picking and choosing your causes based on racial hatred is not right.

 

[blackrock13]

I think the main difference between sharks and farmed animals is that we really don't know how many sharks are out there. Seeing how we've depleted some other marine species, the practice of killing millions of sharks a year to make soup that tastes like nothing special is probably unwise. Yes, the tradition is centuries old. However, we haven't done that on such industrial scale in the past due to obvious technology limitations. Now we have better boats, better fishing gear, etc. It's completely different game now and the whole tradition argument should not be used anymore.

Exact population is not known, but a pretty good idea of 500 million of the 350+ species (although taxonomists love discussing that point), and it's been estimated to be at the wrong end of a 90% decrease in recent years.

Sorry cutting just the fins of a shark and dropping it into the deep to drown is just wrong. Unfortunately self serving people like FUJI support the industry. This one tradition that should be shelved.

 

[pointz]

Either you're ok with how humans treat animals, or you're not. Just picking and choosing your causes based on racial hatred is not right.

My comments have nothing to do with racial hatred or love for the animals and please don't try to steer it that way. Read the statement carefully before accusing anyone. Just saying that this mass killing cannot continue at current pace. "Either you're ok with how humans treat animals, or you're not" attitude will take you nowhere. You do have to pick and choose your causes and do something about it.

 

[blackrock13]

Either you're ok with how humans treat animals, or you're not. Just picking and choosing your causes based on racial hatred is not right.

Racial hatred? This thread is about killing sharks for fin soup.

 

[kenpachi]

Before we start pointing fingers and blaming people for what they are doing wrong, let's look at ourselves. What did the pioneers do to the Indians here when they arrived to North America? How did the Europeans treat them? We all sit in our comfortable chairs with internet writing about how fucked up people are in other parts of the world. Yes, we have tools like google and money in our pockets to vacation around the world, but does this make us any better to judge? Does this allow us to pass judgment onto those whose culture extends back thousands of years? I'm not saying that shark finning is great and it should be practiced, but lets look at how fucked up we are first before pointing our finger to others. Let's imagine how China, whose population exceeds 1.3 billion compared to that of Canadians who has maybe 31 million max views the North American culture.

 

[blackrock13]

Before we start pointing fingers and blaming people for what they are doing wrong, let's look at ourselves. What did the pioneers do to the Indians here when they arrived to North America? How did the Europeans treat them? We all sit in our comfortable chairs with internet writing about how fucked up people are in other parts of the world. Yes, we have tools like google and money in our pockets to vacation around the world, but does this make us any better to judge? Does this allow us to pass judgment onto those whose culture extends back thousands of years? I'm not saying that shark finning is great and it should be practiced, but lets look at how fucked up we are first before pointing our finger to others. Let's imagine how China, whose population exceeds 1.3 billion compared to that of Canadians who has maybe 31 million max views the North American culture.

This thread is about a number of communities in the Pacific, the Carribean and the Indian ocean, who butchering fish for soup and throwing them back in the water alive, let alone in numbers that cannot sustain the population. Let's at least try and stay on the same planet.

 

[pointz]

Nothing wrong with the tradition as long as the fins come from farmed sharks. Here if you want to kill a moose in the wild, you get a licence first.