The UK Just Became The Second G7 Nation To Ban The Shark Fin Trade

     The G7 nations (sometimes called G8, when the rest of the European Union is included) of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan, are the most powerful economic players in the world, their economies alone accounting for more than half of the global total.

     It is about time that conservation be a primary consideration of economies, and, in one respect, we are seeing some progress. In 2019, Canada became the first G7 country to ban the trade in shark fins. (Shark finning is already illegal in the waters of these nations.) Earlier this year, I reported on a bill working its way through Congress that would, among other things, ban the shark fin trade in the United States. While this bill crawls toward passage, the U.K. beat the United States to it and became the second nation to ban the shark fin trade.

     Announced today, the ban is the most strict in the world, forbidding the import, export, and sale of fins attached, detached, tinned, or packaged in any other way. The government also announced more protection for threatened species of sharks in U.K. waters, most notably the shortfin mako. Earlier this year, the government announced a ban on lobsters being boiled alive, part of a broader slate of dozens of animal welfare and environmental protection measures being taken in what can only be described as a small revolution.

     While the shark fin ban bill has passed the Senate in the United States, it still needs to be passed in the House. If you live in the United States, contact your representative and urge them to support this bill. In France, Germany, Italy, and the rest of a European Union, a major initiative that seeks to ban the shark fin trade desperately needs all the votes from European residents it can get. If we can push these measures through, we can leave Japan as the only G7 nation to not ban the shark fin trade, which is good leverage to work with in seeking a ban.

     Please also consider the following petition urging the African Union to ban shark finning and the shark fin trade.