City of Toronto Shark Fin Petition

WHEREAS 75 million sharks are slaughtered world wide at a rate of over 70 million per year, experts agreeing that sharks could be extinct within 10 to 20 years at the current rate of slaughter. WHEREAS shark finning is a wasteful, inhumane practice that involves cutting off a shark's fins and then tossing the still-alive shark back overboard to drown, bleed to death, or to be eaten alive by other animals. WHEREAS shark fins have no significant nutritional value and are considered unhealthy for human consumption due to the accumulation of high levels of mercury and other toxins in fins and flesh. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED we the undersigned support the motion by Councillors Glenn De Baeremaeker and Kristyn Wong-Tam to ban the possession, sale and consumption of shark fins in Toronto.