All Our Lovely Creatures

29 January 2012

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Humans kill 100 million sharks a year
…and for what?

• shark finsfor a tasteless bowl of soup
• shark teeth for jewelry
• shark jawsfor tourist souvenirs
• shark skinfor leather wallets/belts
• shark cartilage capsules and powders for phony medicinal cures
• shark liver oilfor cosmetics/skin care products

Sharks are in Danger

100 million sharks are killed each year-by longlines, by “sport” fishermen, or by a barbaric practice known as shark finning. Hooked sharks are hauled onto boats; their fins are sliced off while they are still alive. These helpless animals are then tossed back into the ocean where, unable to swim without their fins, they sink towards the bottom and die an agonizing death.

With 90% of the world’s large shark populations already wiped out, sharks are being depleted faster than they can reproduce. This threatens the stability of marine ecosystems around the world. Sharks are vitally important apex predators. They have shaped marine life in the oceans for over 400 million years and are essential to the health of the planet, and ultimately to the survival of mankind. Sea Shepherd patrols marine protected areas, exposing the corruption that drives this multi-billion dollar industry and directly intervening to stop the brutal slaughter of sharks.

http://www.seashepherd.org/sharks/