Actor Morgan Freeman, who happens to be a big shark fan, was in Washington, DC recently to lobby for legislation that would ban shark fin sales.
Freeman spoke on behalf of ocean advocacy group Oceana in his trademark “March of the Penguins” tone:
“It is a very brutal practice — they hack the fins off . . . and dump it back into the sea, where it will drown or bleed to death or be eaten alive by other fish. It’s cruel. It’s wasteful.”
While shark finning is already illegal in the USA, the legislation Freeman and Oceana are advocating, the “Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act,” would ban the sale of shark fins in the USA.
Freeman said:
“Sharks are being killed for their fins, much like rhinos and elephants have been decimated due to the demand for their horns and tusks. While shark finning is banned in U.S. waters, we continue to buy, sell and trade shark fins throughout the country. By allowing the trade of shark fins within our borders, the U.S. continues to contribute to this global problem. The Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act would not only get the U.S. out of the shark fin trade business, but it would also reinforce the status of the United States as a leader in shark conservation.”
For more info, check out the Oceana website at oceana.org.
