A Note on the Shark Finning Action

by Stephanie Ernst · 2009-05-29 08:19:00 UTC
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I don't have time to write a detailed post on shark finning and fishing in general right now, but I do want to quickly make a request of you regarding the action in support of a bill aimed at stopping finning, about which you may have receieved an alert. First, for sake of clarity, do understand that no killing of sharks is humane or necessary, and this law will not make killing sharks illegal (unfortunately). But the narrowly focused Shark Conservation Act of 2009 does seek to stop the heinous practice of finning, in which people pull sharks from the water, hack off their fins, and then throw them back into the water--suffering terribly--to die terribly, unable to swim. And this is all for something as selfish and unnecessary as a specialty soup.

Here's what I want to ask of you before you sign the petition:

The default language of the petition remarks that the bill "will help put an end to the wasteful practice of 'finning.'" And I'm sure many of you know exactly what I'm going to request: get rid of that "wasteful," will you? This isn't about "wasting" the remaining body parts of a living being; it's about extraordinary cruelty and the decimation of species. So feel free to customize and personalize your e-mail in whatever other ways you see fit as well, but at least please change that "wasteful" to "cruel" before you hit send. We're not talking about throwing out half a loaf of bread because it got a little stale; we're talking about a sentient animal's suffering.

Stephanie Ernst wrote the original Animal Rights blog at Change.org until December 2009. She can now be found at Animal Rights & AntiOppression.
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