Happy Hearts Love Sharks
For many years, shark fin soup has been a popular delicacy at weddings and formal occasions in China. Recently, it has become clear that shark-fin removal is cruel to sharks and severely damages shark populations. Claudia Li, a passionate Chinese-Canadian woman, wanted to make a difference. Li started an organization called Shark Truth, now a part of the Hua Foundation, and set up a contest encouraging happy couples in Canada to say “no” to shark-fin soup for their wedding menu. In return, contest winners were entered to win a free honeymoon to swim with sharks in Mexico. In only three years, this contest has saved 8,000 sharks and diverted 80,000 bowls of shark-fin soup from wedding tables. Small efforts like these are sweeping the country and the world as people become more aware about the dangers of shark finning. Shark fin soup is now banned at Chinese government functions and it has become noticeably absent at tables around the country. See the many other regulations worldwide that are protecting sharks. Small efforts like this are sweeping across the world, and are being joined by governments, airlines, and other groups.