ANIMAL
PETITIONS

Shark finning is a brutal and inhumane practice that is driving numerous shark species towards extinction. Every year, an estimated 100 million sharks are slaughtered for their fins – a staggering number roughly equivalent to the combined populations of Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

The process is as cruel as it is wasteful. Fishermen slice off the sharks' fins and discard the still-living creatures back into the ocean, where they are left to bleed to death or suffocate. Additionally, approximately 50 million more sharks die annually as bycatch in unregulated fisheries, often due to destructive and indiscriminate fishing methods such as longlines, gillnets, and trawls.

This senseless slaughter is fueled by the demand for shark fin soup, a traditionally aristocratic delicacy that has found a new market in China's emerging middle class. In the past two decades, the demand for this "status symbol" dish has skyrocketed, with a bowl costing up to $100 – a price that is now within reach for hundreds of millions of people due to China's economic growth.

However, this outmoded tradition, which began as a way for the wealthy to assert their superiority over the ocean's apex predators, is driving numerous shark species to the brink of extinction. Ironically, shark meat has virtually no taste and may contain dangerous levels of mercury, making it unsafe to consume.

The consequences of this practice are far-reaching. More than 25% of known shark species are now on the verge of extinction, disrupting the balance of countless oceanic ecosystems and causing significant economic impacts. Sharks play a crucial role in maintaining the health of their habitats, and their decline can trigger a ripple effect that disrupts the populations of their prey and their prey's prey, ultimately costing fisheries and communities far more than the market price of a shark fin.

While the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has been fighting to preserve sharks for decades, it currently offers protections for only eight shark species – a mere fraction of those threatened with extinction from finning.

We call on the CITES Secretary-General to ramp up efforts and expand the protective scope of CITES to include all threatened, vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered shark species. It is time to put an end to this cruel and unsustainable practice and ensure the survival of these magnificent creatures for generations to come.

Join us in demanding decisive action to protect sharks from the devastating impacts of finning. Sign this petition and raise your voice for the preservation of our oceans' delicate ecosystems and the countless species that depend on them.