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One step closer to safety.© JupiterImages Corporation |
Just in time for “Shark Week” on The Discovery Channel, there is news of a major victory for Humane Society International’s shark finning campaign: Taiwan’s famous National Palace Museum has agreed to stop serving shark fin soup.
HSI’s campaign manager, Shu Jen Chen, explains how this was accomplished.
Q: What is shark fin soup and what is the problem with it?
A: Each year, millions of sharks are hunted, have their fins sliced off, and then are thrown back into the ocean, dead or dying. "Finning" is done to satisfy an appetite for dishes such as shark fin soup, which may be served by Chinese restaurants and during Chinese New Year celebrations, weddings, and other events.
Consuming shark fin soup is cruel and unnecessary. Shark fin does not have much taste and it may contain high levels of mercury. Vegetarian alternatives exist.
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The National Palace Museum, Taiwan.© Jiang/Wikipedia |
Q: What is the National Palace Museum?A: The National Palace Museum in Taipei is the most important museum in Taiwan. It holds thousands of extraordinary artifacts from the Chinese dynasty era. It has a very fancy banquet hall which people can rent out for special occasions.
Q: How did you get involved with campaigning in Taiwan?
A: I am from Taiwan originally and a few months ago when I returned home to Taiwan to visit my family, at the request of HSI’s CEO Andrew Rowan I met with two contacts at The Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST), Wu Hung and Yu Min. I liked them immediately—with their love of animals, they were kindred spirits to me! We talked a lot about all the campaigns I am working on for HSI, including shark finning. I was so touched by what they had to say. They work really hard—in Taiwan it can be difficult for an environmental or animal welfare group to get funding, as it’s preferable culturally to donate to help people.
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Sorting through piles of fins.© The Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) |
Q: What does EAST think of HSI’s shark finning campaign?A: They absolutely love it because they can tell it’s not just for show—we are really
reaching out to the Chinese community. I showed them the
bilingual table tents and other materials we have developed. I told them about my speaking to Chinese community centers, booths we have had at Lunar New Year events, and our online
shark fin pledge.
Q: How did you get the idea to approach the museum?
A: One day, I got an e-mail from EAST one day noting the fact that the National Palace Museum served shark fin soup and suggesting that HSI and EAST issue a joint statement urging them to stop doing so. We researched to confirm that it was indeed being offered and on what scale it was being consumed; then we went ahead and issued the statement.
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| Not worth the cost to nature.© HSI |
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Q: What happened next?
A: We sent letters to the museum and a government entity associated with it. EAST also posted the statement on its web site. Since the National Palace Museum is so famous, the Taiwanese media are generally eager to report any news about it, and a reporter from Lian He Bao newspaper picked up this story. That publication reported it on their web site, then other press got interested. It became really huge news quite quickly and for a few days it was all over television and in newspapers throughout the country. There was a poll about it on Yahoo! Taiwan and 59.9% of participants voted that if the National Palace Museum continued to serve shark fin soup, it would “damage Taiwan’s international image.”
Q: How did the museum react?
A: I really have to praise the museum’s leaders for their action. Once they realized how much people cared, they quickly agreed to stop serving any shark fin soup, in both the Silk Palace restaurant and the banquet hall. This will help educate many visitors to the museum about why shark fin soup is bad for animals and the environment.
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If you eat shark fin soup, pledge not to do so any longer. Even if you don't eat it, you can still help! Learn more about how. |
Q: This is so incredible! How are you feeling about it?
A: I’m just thrilled. I care so much about this campaign and I really believe in it. It’s very rewarding to me. Every time I speak at a Chinese community center, for example, people come up to me and say they had no idea. They say they thought eating sharks was like eating any other kind of fish. I thought the same when I was younger. I think people have good hearts—they just need to be educated. Those I am meeting are now saying that they will never eat shark fin again. Just hearing that is more than enough for me!
Q: Anything else you’d like to say?
A: Just that we hope very much that other public attractions and restaurants in Taiwan will follow the lead of the National Palace Museum and also stop serving shark fin soup. Sharks are apex predators vital to the health of our oceans. Their numbers are declining and we must take action to save them.
I would also like to say thank you once more to both EAST and the National Palace Museum for this. Thanks to them, all of Taiwan is now more aware of this important issue. It’s more than I could have hoped for!
