In Reply to: Shark fin soup posted by Marla on October 17, 2003 at 20:24:06:
Right... Firstly, I don't think I have had shark fin soup before. Besides, I'm from northern China so I'd rather have a helping of Jiaozi instead. :)
I agree with you that the killing of endangered animals for food (or any other reason for that matter) to a point where the survival of their species is in doubt is wrong. But I don't think eating shark fin is intrinsically deviant. So I will call it wrong, because sharks are endangered animals, but I will not call it deviant. Also please do remember that the Chinese are not the only people who consume endangered animals for food so I hope this is not one of those attacks on China in general which I have observed from time to time elsewhere. (I believe it is not)
I also agree that human beings have many failings as you have pointed out. I believe humans should have respect for nature but I also think the deification of nature (i.e. making nature into an idol, a "god"-symbol) is incorrect so I would refrain from using phrases such as "sins commited against Nature" as the term "sin" would not be apporpriate here.
As for ending the slaughter before they become extinct, I think this is indeed an urgent issue but if I'm not mistaken then I think the use of shark fin for food is actually explicitly outlawed in China. Now the effort should be concentrated on stopping this trade on the black market.