The shark's fins are then dried and used in shark fin soup, an Asian, chicken flavored soup in which the shark's fin adds a jelly like texture. The soup can sell for over $100 USD. The price of the shark's fin really depends on the species of shark it comes from. Larger fins are more expensive than smaller fins. One fin from a whale shark once sold for roughly $50,000 dollars. Yes folks, for one fin. Scientists estimate that roughly 100,000,000 sharks are being killed every year. Many species are now threatened with extinction and some are nearing the brink.
Before we get to the video itself I want to make a statement. When a lion in Africa is shot and killed and it hits social media, the world goes into a frenzy. Everybody talked about that lion and while the situation lions are in with poachers and what not is also a huge issue, the issue of the overfishing of sharks I personally think is a larger issue that is not heard about often enough. People basically want the head of the guy that went out and killed the lion. Strangely enough though I didn't hear nearly as much of an outcry for blood just days later when poachers killed the brother of the lion. It's strange what people will react to and hopefully this video can get shared around enough to cause an outcry to help these animals much like the death of Cecil the lion sparked massive attention for lions. My warning to anyone about to watch this video is that it is incredibly graphic and shows just how evil humans can be towards other forms of life. For those who do not want to watch, the video depicts two Chinese men cutting up a live whale shark.
For those of you who do not know what this animal is...
Whale sharks are the gentle giants of the seas. They are the largest fish on the planet and despite having a 4 foot wide mouth, only eat small fishes, krill, and plankton. Whale sharks have never been aggressive towards humans and as you can see in the image, they don't mind swimming along with humans either. Whale sharks can grow to be over 40 feet in length and are currently listed as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN's Red List.
To anyone reading this blog. Take a good moment to think about what you are about to watch and remember that the animal in the video never once even thought to injure a human. Never thought to eat a human. Never thought to drown a human. Just a massive peaceful creature whose life was brutally taken from it for nothing more than a bowl of soup. Watch the video and spread it far and wide. Lets show the world that we are tired of cruelty towards these sharks just as so many sounded off and brought awareness to poaching in Africa!
