Thousands of shark fins found on top of Hong Kong roof.

[breadisfunny]

Which is ridiculous seeing how shark is delicious.

i would like to disagree with you on that. i find shark filets to be rather bland and tasteless.

[Afrospinach]

Yes I have eaten shark fin soup many times and it was delicious. That was in the solomon islands a couple of decades ago and it was just priced as a run of the mill soup. It is worth noting that all of this restaurants soups were delicious and that imo having shark fin in the soup really added very little so you are not missing out on anything if you have never had it.

To the shark meat guy: It is really just an average or worse tasting fish(at least the stuff I have tried) hence not particularly valuable.

[xylophone]

i would like to disagree with you on that. i find shark filets to be rather bland and tasteless.

Well I guess not everyone knows how to cook fish properly.

[Goatfish]

You'd be surprised at how 'unhumanely' livestock is slaughtered. The same animal rights organization who criticize shark-finning also criticize factory farms in their inhumane treatment of livestock when they're alive and the 'cruel' process in which livestock is slaughtered.

While it is possible they are treated badly in some places, in most they are not. This is coming from a small town butcher who deals with cattle farmers and the slaughter and processing of said animals 6 days a week... I think I might have just a tiny idea about where I am coming from, and at least from where I am from those statements of yours are nothing but ridiculous, blatantly false propaganda.

[Anastacy]

Yeah you're not racist at all.

Is "Chinese" a race or a nationality?

[Deleted]

wish china could just dissapear i hate the country, they skin dogs alive they let bears stand up whole their life in pain for their bile, they kill dolphins and seals in horrible ways, they have animal cruelty everwhere...

Why a totalitarian nation that treats its own people with that same cruelty would show any ethics with animals either?

[Super Friendly Kitty Cat]

I love Shark Fin Soup. Always order a couple bowls when I travel around the Orient.

[Gheld]

Are the sharks endangered? I'm quite against the eating of endangered species.

We're at the top of the food chain on this planet. In theory we should be able to pick and choose, and feed ourselves without threatening the extinction of any one species.

[Mindstripper]

Apples, meet oranges.

Except it's totally not. It's the EXACT SAME THING. Tell me, do you eat fish? Do you know how most fish that aren't farmed are caught? In ways that do much crueler things to animals that aren't the target of the fishing than cutting the fins off a shark. Have you ever seen the inside of chicken "farm"? Or pork? It's disgusting. Inhumane. And the only people who give a shit are the people that are really extreme about animal rights. The "I don't eat anything with a face" kind of people. And yet it's all the same. And I don't give a shit. Yeah it sucks that they don't take the meat and use it. But you know what? At the end of the day none of you are going to actually get up and do anything about it. Not a single person in this thread is going to get off their lazy asses, shut off the video games and the tv, and take time off of work and play time to actively participate in the kinds of protests and activism that would get this kind of thing to change. And that's why I stopped giving a shit about this kind of crap a long time ago. I don't have to eat it, and I won't be alive long enough to see the species go extinct, and nobody else is going to do anything about it. So how about you all stop being bloody hypocrites and eat your goddamn food. Millions of feeling animals suffered and died so that could reach your plate, the least you can do is make their suffering not be in vain.

[kynthrus]

i see no problem with this. You have no qualms about breeding and mass slaughtering cows and pigs. But you take issue with these sharkers merely because attention is brought upon it?

This place REEKS of hypocricy.

I don't care about your post.... However, I feel the need to tell you that I love everything about your name and profile pic, you are awesome and deserve to live forever.

[yurano]

-Two wrongs don't make one right.
-Killing something that is eaten isn't as bad as killing something for novelty value. Sure; seal furs are sold as a precious commodity, but the seal flesh is also eaten. Sharks are killed purely out of commodity (that is: Rare fin soup). The shark mostly isn't eaten. So for a better analogy, the seals you mentioned should be hooked, dragged into a boat, then mutilated and then, alive but slowly dying, be tossed back into the ocean.
Instead, your analogy goes as far as: The seal is captured, then killed somewhat inefficiently, and then used for flesh and fur.
If you cannot see the difference between hunting and wasteful mutilation, then I'm sorry to say, but you simply should.

Doesn't make the inefficient killing good, by the way. Just less bad than the shark fin trade. Also: Wolves kill like that, as well. Doesn't make it good, and we could certainly do better because of fists and tools. It's not an excuse, it's just not the same as shark fins.

No, actually seal meat isn't worth very much. Meat is sold to the Asian pet food market; in 2004, only Taiwan and South Korea purchased seal meat from Canada.

According to the criticisms in the Wikipedia article, the seals are clubbed (not checked for signs of death) and potentially skinned alive. I don't see how 'using the meat' makes the same type of torture any more 'OK'.

If instead of shark-finning, fishers instead shot each and every shark before dumping the carcass back into the ocean. By your logic, that would be A-OK because the animal is no longer being multilated/tortured (this is what western countries do).

While it is possible they are treated badly in some places, in most they are not. This is coming from a small town butcher who deals with cattle farmers and the slaughter and processing of said animals 6 days a week... I think I might have just a tiny idea about where I am coming from, and at least from where I am from those statements of yours are nothing but ridiculous, blatantly false propaganda.

So you're criticizing my argument that its an 'anecdote' by using another anecdote? Small towns generally don't have the capacity to operate factory farms. We're talking about factory farms that have enough capacity to export their products.

Why would a totalitarian nation that treats its own people with that same cruelty show any ethics with animals either?

Yeah but other East Asian nations also partake in shark-fin soup, most nations of which are democratic. There goes your argument.

Do you know how most fish that aren't farmed are caught? In ways that do much crueler things to animals that aren't the target of the fishing than cutting the fins off a shark.

Have you ever seen the inside of chicken "farm"? Or pork? It's disgusting. Inhumane.

This guy's got it right.

Most people in this thread are accusing Asia of animal cruelty with a blind hatred when similar things happen in western countries.

I'm not saying two wrongs make a right, but if you're going to criticize Asia, you're obligated to criticize your own country as well. You definitely can't say "we're better than they are".

[Gheld]

Except it's totally not. It's the EXACT SAME THING. Tell me, do you eat fish? Do you know how most fish that aren't farmed are caught? In ways that do much crueler things to animals that aren't the target of the fishing than cutting the fins off a shark. Have you ever seen the inside of chicken "farm"? Or pork? It's disgusting. Inhumane. And the only people who give a shit are the people that are really extreme about animal rights. The "I don't eat anything with a face" kind of people. And yet it's all the same. And I don't give a shit. Yeah it sucks that they don't take the meat and use it. But you know what? At the end of the day none of you are going to actually get up and do anything about it. Not a single person in this thread is going to get off their lazy asses, shut off the video games and the tv, and take time off of work and play time to actively participate in the kinds of protests and activism that would get this kind of thing to change. And that's why I stopped giving a shit about this kind of crap a long time ago. I don't have to eat it, and I won't be alive long enough to see the species go extinct, and nobody else is going to do anything about it. So how about you all stop being bloody hypocrites and eat your goddamn food. Millions of feeling animals suffered and died so that could reach your plate, the least you can do is make their suffering not be in vain.

When it comes to international standards, there's really nothing anybody can actually do beyond expressing their discontent in a blog, or writing a letter to the countries government. I mean honestly, should we go declare war on China or something? I think in that case the cure is worse than the disease.

We could only hope to try and change their attitude in time, and it might take years, decades, maybe centuries. But it's better than not saying anything at all.

People take the relative level of non violence in this day and age for granted, but up until the latter half of the 20th century the world was a pretty violent and unforgiving place, even in the so called safe havens.

People can call it 'slacktivism' all they want. But it does a lot more good than criticizing people who 'don't do enough' (which takes just as much time, evidently).

[Boogums]

Gordon Ramsey's my hero.

---------- Post added 2013-01-07 at 01:14 AM ----------

i see no problem with this. You have no qualms about breeding and mass slaughtering cows and pigs. But you take issue with these sharkers merely because attention is brought upon it?

This place REEKS of hypocricy.

The problem is, the cows and pigs we breed for meat are killed and butchered. The sharks are wild animals, they aren't killed, they're simply removed of their fins and being thrown back into the wild to die. It negatively impacts the ecosystem far worse than breeding animals for food because they're being fished into extinction.

[Sam the Wiser]

Kinda in the mood for some shark fin soup after watching that 15 minute video lol.

[Harry Botter]

I will never eat Shark Fin soup. This is simply barbaric. Same reason I will never Foie Gras either. I don't mind the humane slaughter of an animal for survival, but to butcher it in such a way and force it to die slow and painfully is just wrong. If you are going to kill an animal you use as much of it as you can and don't make it suffer. At least that's what I was taught.

[Nadev]

How do they round so many up?

[Stir]

*SNIP*

Okay...
Inuit are allowed to hunt seals if they eat the meat. Legal and everything.
If the meat isn't eaten, but instead traded away, and the killing is done solely for the furs, then that is what we call 'poaching.' It is illegal activity.
That's part one.
Part two is:
Killing an animal for only a few bits is wasteful. It is wasteful of life. Even if the sharks would be killed 'humanely' (which traditionally comes down to grappling it to the ground, punching it until it's too weak to resist, and then using blunt teeth to tear the animal apart while it's still alive, but hey, who cares about biology, right?), it would still be criminal to kill an animal and then not use it. Using only the fins is not using the animal at all. It's cruel, but it's doubly bad because it's cruel for no good reason. It's cruelty for the hell of it.

As for being obligated to criticize my own country as well: Yeah; chickens have it really bad, here. But on the whole, the Netherlands is doing pretty darn okay in the whole animal well-being thing. Animals actually have rights, as put down legally. Sure; humans are still more equal than other animals, and that's not likely to change because we áre humans, and as such, our own species is more important to us than other species (which is purely natural, of course), but on the whole, most animals we Dutch keep as livestock are leading pretty okay lives. Sure, there's room for improvement.
Meanwhile, in a region of China, there is this delicacy called 'live donkey.' They have a donkey. The donkey is alive. They cut bits off the living donkey and serve it. While the donkey is still alive.
In Japan, you've got live sashimi. Which is fish cut up and re-arranged in such a fashion that it's still alive when you're eating it.

You can say what you want about animal cruelty, and the violent ways in which some animals are killed, but violence and cruelty aren't exactly the same thing. Hacking away at fish with a machete is not by far as cruel as dissecting a live animal so that it can be eaten while still alive. Sure; hacking away with a scimitar is much, múch more violent... But far less cruel.

[Tokru]

Wouldn't try it. But not because of "Oh those poor animals." but because I just dont like fish in general.

[yurano]

If the meat isn't eaten, but instead traded away, and the killing is done solely for the furs, then that is what we call 'poaching.' It is illegal activity.

Poaching is the unlawful taking of wild plants or animals; the law concerned may be e.g. the law of property or local or international conservation and wildlife management laws.

Canadian government has frequently allowed businesses to 'bid' on licenses to hunt seals. Apparently, it has something to do with seal overpopulation.

As for being obligated to criticize my own country as well: Yeah; chickens have it really bad, here. But on the whole, the Netherlands is doing pretty darn okay in the whole animal well-being thing.

The Netherlands scores high on the list of animal cruelty. Our country is in fourth place of a list of countries where large-scale animal cruelty occurs. The list is published for the thirteenth time this year hosted by Dierenhulp Foundation.

Meanwhile, in a region of China, there is this delicacy called 'live donkey.' They have a donkey. The donkey is alive. They cut bits off the living donkey and serve it. While the donkey is still alive.

Yeah... I don't think this is as popular as you make it out to be.

In Japan, you've got live sashimi. Which is fish cut up and re-arranged in such a fashion that it's still alive when you're eating it.

Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy. It consists of very fresh raw meat or fish, sliced into thin pieces.

You can say what you want about animal cruelty, and the violent ways in which some animals are killed, but violence and cruelty aren't exactly the same thing. Hacking away at fish with a machete is not by far as cruel as dissecting a live animal so that it can be eaten while still alive. Sure; hacking away with a scimitar is much, múch more violent... But far less cruel.

First off, hacking away at a fish is more or less equivalent at dissecting a live animal...

Cruelty is indifference to suffering, and even pleasure in inflicting it.

In my original post, I was talking about cruelty as causing unnecessary pain and suffering during the harvest and processing of animals for human use. I'm not talking about whether the act seems violent. I'm talking about the use of cruel and torture-like methods to kill and process animals. You argue that shark-finning is cruel because its a 'live dissection' in addition to death by suffocation when the shark is dumped overboard. My example was to show that other first world western countries also treat animals cruelly. In the example, seal harvesting in Canada sometimes involves skinning a live animal because the harvesters don't bother verify animal death before proceeding.

I'm not saying animal cruelty is right. I'm criticizing the nation bashing and culture shock associated with shark fin harvesting by pointing out western countries' failures to treat animals humanely.

[Crissi]

yurano, i understand your counterpoint, but forgive me if im wrong, but it seems like it really is mostly asian countries that prize animal parts off of PROTECTED species, which then fuels poaching and the decline of said animal's population. Such as elephants and their ivory, rhinos, tigers for their bones / skin, ect. Although i do know us Americans are just as guilty by buying ivory products, although i think thats been outlawed.