Though Parliament recently decided against a shark meat ban, the Vancouver Animal Defence League still wants to see the controversial dish taken off Vancouvers menu.
Protesters continue to gather outside Sun Sui Wah restaurant at 3888 Main St. every Friday evening, wielding signs and pleading with patrons to not support the restaurant, which offers shark fin soup on several of its banquet menus.
The group moved to Sun Sui Wah in March, after ending their protest outside of Fortune Gardens restaurant in South Granville. The eight-month long protest ended in a victory for the activists, with Fortune Garden agreeing to remove shark fin soup from its menu.
The federal government wont do anything, the provincial government wont do anything and the municipal government wont do anything, so we need to target restaurants, protester Marley Daviduk said.
Well be outside [Sun Sui Wah] until they take shark off the menu, even if it takes a year. Then we can move on to another restaurant.
The shark meat industry has been criticized for being inhumane and wasteful, as well as for putting several species of shark on the endangered species list. But the trade remains legal in Canada with the exception of cities that include New Westminster, Coquitlam, and Port Moody that have employed bans on a municipal level.
New Westminster-Coquitlam and Port Moody NDP MP and fisheries and oceans critic Fin Donnelly introduced a private members bill to Parliament in December 2011 requesting a ban. It was struck down by a House of Commons vote in March.
If passed, the bill would have banned the import of detached shark fins at the federal level. Public support for a ban remains high, and groups like the Vancouver Animal Defence League have picked up the torch in Calgary, Toronto and other cities.
Donnelly was hesitant to grant approval to any protests targeting restaurants, and instead stated that giving information to consumers can be effective, but its all in delivery.
An employee at Sun Sui Wah, who wished to remain anonymous, said targeting the restaurant is unfair, as it is far from the only business in Vancouver serving shark fin.
Were not doing anything illegal, he said. If the city changes the laws well stop selling it. If everybody else stopped selling it we would too, but as a business we need to stay competitive.
Critics of a potential shark ban have argued that no similar laws exist for ivory products and that a shark fin ban could not be enforced in a cost-effective manner. However, protester Errol Povah described public support for the groups protests as overwhelming. At the May 17 protest, almost one-third of passing cars honked to show their support.
Weve even had bus drivers and VPD cars honk, Povah said. People will cross the street just to chat with us or pick up a sign and join us.
Drew_mclachlan@hotmail.com
