Editor:
It’s already sad and disappointing enough to read all kinds of animal cruelty and illegal trades around the world on social media everyday, but seeing an advertisement for expensive $48 “shark’s fin rice” in my local community newspaper on Jan. 20 just makes me feel worse.
With absolutely no health benefits, many still pay high cost for this ‘delicacy’ with cruel practice of shark-finning behind the scene. Since the wealthy population keeps on growing dramatically in China, the sharks are facing a more devastating crisis than ever before; a 90 per cent population decline since 1986. One-third of shark species are threatened with extinction, which makes an enormous negative impact to the health of already weakened marine ecosystem.
Too bad our different levels of government want to ‘look after’ part of their Chinese voters and have done nothing seriously to this international conservation crisis, which eventually will turn into our own survival crisis.
I still remember Richmond MP Alice Wong demonstrating her support of shark fin soup enjoyably in front of mainstream news media back in 2012; the Bill C-380, introduced by MP Fin Donnelly for a shark-fin-import ban in Canada was not passed in 2013.
As a Chinese immigrant who never had shark fin soup or rice in my life, I have to stand up and tell the other ethnic origins of Canada that shark-fin dishes are not part of a Chinese culture. Please don’t think that all the Chinese treat sharks just like chicken or beef.
The ‘luxurious menu’ is not appreciated by the people who care about our planet and future generations. Being an assistant of inhuman killing activities and environmental destroyer is not a smart thing to do, especially when global warming and climate change is already coming after us.
Please support Bill C-251 to ban shark-fin imports to Canada, re-introduced by Donnelly.
Jenny Lo, Surrey