VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Protesters took to the streets of Chinatown yesterday in hopes of making Vancouver the next Canadian community to ban the sale of shark fins. Their goal was to show how easy it is to buy the product in this market.
Organizers say over 73 million sharks are killed annually for the delicacy. Claudia Li with
Shark Truth says their hope is to have shark fin consumption stopped in Canada in about five to 10 years.
"One of the stores we went to that sold shark fin, even the owner of the store said that she believed that we should really get rid of shark fin. And she's looking forward to more of her customers not buying it and that's really exciting for me to hear."
She adds shark fin soup is a status symbol served at weddings. "It's consumed as a luxury item by Chinese consumers and it's completely unsustainable. And not only is it ecologically destructive but shark fining is extremely wasteful and very cruel."
Brantford, Ontario has already banned the sale of shark fins.