Recently I was shocked to see a prime time show on TVB local channel promoting shark's fin.  Not that I have not seen that before (in fact I grew up with shocking brainwashing like many!) but I am saddened that after all the education that has been going on about how shark's fin is obtained they have not noticed and actually did a program on it, complete with young celebs endorsing it.  We are in 2010! 

Here's an article on how the public has voiced their concerns/disapproval since this program has been aired:

http://hk-magazine.com/feature/beastly-feast#comment-3265

I believe the media has a social responsibility. 

And yes a cynical and pragmatic way to see it is it boils down to who is paying for the advertising. But even that, the show is just bad taste...

I believe if we vote with where our money goes to then we can make truly healthy food a profitable business so we can see more of that on the media!  We don't have to put up with this...

I recently joined a Facebook group: 向魚翅說不 SAY NO TO SHARK'S FIN SOUP

See if you want to join and invite others.  Let's make our voices heard by uniting. 

Another Facebook group I found is this:

『魚翅婚宴。人情七折 』專頁 "Cut gift money for shark fin banquets" Community Page

It's an ingenious way to discourage newly-weds to serve shark's fin - by cutting gift money.

Whatever we do, let us make it be known to that it is UNcool to eat shark's fin and let us tell the media that we are tired of programs promoting the eating of shark's fin and other endangered species and endorsing cruel way of killing animals.  Let us be clear and let it be known that there are many nutritious and delicious foods out there one can eat to look good and feel good...!  And they can very well make programs promoting these!

The following has been shared with me by someone through email.  The description is in Chinese.  The pictures are supposedly taken from a Hong Kong diver at a diving trip in the Phillippines.  They found the baby shark with most of its fins cut off and left to die.  They aptly described it as being like having your arms and legs amputated and left to die in the sea...

The divers were very sad to see the pain of the shark and they helped it to die quicker by pulling it onto the beach... The narrator felt shameful as human in the face of the dying and innocent shark. 

The shark struggled and finally stopped moving. 

The pictures are self-explanatory. 

The writer of this says he/she wil never forget this experience and vows never to eat shark's fin. 

以下這幾幅相是每位潛水員最不想見到的場面。新年假期有一班香港潛水員到菲律賓Philippines潛水時於淺水海面發現有條年幼鯨 鯊(就是鄭依健幫WWF 拍宣揚海洋保育那種魚，它是海洋最大種魚類，成年可長12米 ，重二十噸。但 品性惇良，大嘴無牙，專吃浮游生物，絕不襲擊人)，其後將它救起，竟發現它的魚鰭全部被割走(等同將它的手手腳腳全部割斷)，其後它 就慢慢流血離開了海洋。

魚鰭就是中國人認為最珍貴的魚翅，但其實魚翅本身沒有味道，全靠高湯的鮮 味。現在全球每年捕殺一億條鯊魚，鯊魚繁殖緩慢。如果繼續大量捕殺下去，衹會使鯊魚絕種，破壞海洋生態鏈。而且鯊魚身處海洋生物鏈頂 層，生平吃了很多其他魚類，體內積聚不少水銀和重金屬，故魚翅含水銀，不宜多吃。

消費剌激生產，只要減少市場對魚翅的需求，就能令漁民少殺鯊魚，為海洋保育。(真的希望我們的餐廳不賣魚翅 )

Please share this with people you know.  Let them know that having shark's fin on the table is a symbol of ignorance and bad taste, not status.... Let's stop this brutality. 

Thank you!!