Save our sharks
Every year, the fins of up to 73 million sharks are harvested and sold, mostly for shark fin soup.
Sharks are caught and their fins cut off. The rest of the dead or dying shark’s body is thrown back into the sea. This is the cruel and wasteful practice called ‘finning’ that remains legal in many parts of the world.
Increasing demand for shark fin is taking many species to the brink of extinction and threatening marine ecosystems the world over. Research shows that the massive depletion of sharks has cascading effects throughout our oceans. An estimated 1/3 of open-ocean shark species are currently threatened with extinction, with certain populations experiencing a 90% population decline.
Virgin’s involvement
In September 2011, Virgin Unite and Sir Richard Branson joined the international conservation organisation WildAid in a global campaign to save sharks from extinction.
Richard joined another WildAid Ambassador, Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, and leading Chinese entrepreneur Zong Qinghou to launch the campaign in Shanghai. They met with representatives of the media, NGO’s and businesses to engage their support to prevent the extinction of shark populations and even entire species, asking consumers all over the world to take a pledge at the WildAid website (wildaid.org) to stop eating shark fin soup.
This campaign will strengthen WildAid’s Shark Conservation Programme that has successfully elevated the international profile of sharks and has highlighted the importance of global shark conservation.
Take action
To support WildAid’s work to protect sharks, donate at www.wildaid.org and find out more below:
Visit the website: www.wildaid.org
Email us at: info@wildaid.org
Follow us on Twitter: @WildAid
Like us on facebook: facebook.com/wildaid
Photo copyright: Courtesy of WildAid
