To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:
WHEREAS over 100 million sharks are being brutally killed, mutilated and butchered by the abhorrent practice of shark finning, which involves the removal of the fins of live sharks, and then throwing the finless, immobile live shark back into the ocean, where it is destined for a slow and torturous death, by either suffocation or an attack by a predator;
WHEREAS sharks are a vital component of the oceans interconnected ecosystem, leading ecologists to warn that rapid decreases in shark populations will disturb the ocean's equilibrium, and upset the ecosystems of the oceans of the world;
WHEREAS the practice of shark finning can have disastrous effects on other fisheries, as the decrease in sharks decreases the supply of scallops, oysters, and other soft-shell and hard-shell organisms;
WHEREAS the United Nations General Assembly itself has noted that the decline in the shark population could "have an impact on broader ecosystem functions";
WE THE UNDERSIGNED urge the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the prohibition of shark finning, and to call upon the Federal Government to support the prohibition of this cruel act; to prohibit the sale and marketing of shark fins as used in shark fin soup; and to call on Ontarians to consider stopping this horrible and wasteful practice of eating and consuming shark fins, as a way to protect this endangered species from unnecessary and cruel acts, especially in light of the unconscionable, wasteful and inhumane methods used to obtain shark fins for the purpose of making shark fin soup.
