HSI activists take to the streets to educate consumers
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| Educating the next generation. © S. Prolman/HSI |
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Scores of Humane Society International (HSI) supporters from around the United States and Canada kicked off the Year of the Ox by taking action to protect sharks.
The start of the Lunar New Year is a time of festivity and celebrations. However, many celebrants are not aware of problems with one dish found on the menu for many New Year banquets—shark fin soup. Tens of millions of sharks are killed to meet the demand for shark fin soup around the world each year. Sharks’ fins are sometimes removed while the animals are still living. The shark carcasses are thrown overboard. This wasteful practice is not only cruel; it is also devastating to marine ecosystems that depend on these top predators.
| Help Stop Shark Finning |
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You can help stop the cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning. View a list of actions you can take. |
Raising Awareness
To help spread the word, HSI volunteers handed out brochures and spoke with celebrants at Lunar New Year events from coast to coast. These activists took to the streets in New York, Boston, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and other cities, asking consumers to pledge never to purchase, consume, or serve any dish with shark fin. For the first time in HSI’s history, volunteers reached out to consumers in Canada, at New Year events in Vancouver and Toronto.
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Dedicated volunteers advertise the cause. © Buddhism Communications, Inc. |
HSI mixed with thousands of revelers at the various celebrations. “We enjoyed a positive reception,” said Patrick Kwan of The Humane Society of the United States. “Some of the people said they had never heard of the concerns surrounding shark fin soup, but told me they would avoid it now that they know.”
“HSI is grateful to all of the volunteers who made our Lunar New Year outreach a great success,” said Shu Jen Chen, HSI’s No Shark Finning Campaign Manager. “They helped to generated stories in Chinese-language television and print news outlets that reach a potential audience of millions around the world.”
