Shark fin fight continues in Vancouver
Councillor confident Vancouver can create better bylaw than one defeated in Toronto
CBC News
Posted: Dec 4, 2012 12:57 PM PT
Last Updated: Dec 4, 2012 3:11 PM PT
Shark fins are usually stewed in a soup and served at traditional Chinese weddings. (Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)
Related
Related Stories
A recent court decision that struck down Toronto’s shark fin ban won’t stop Vancouver’s fight to restrict the product, said one Vancouver city councillor.
Coun. Kerry Jang, who proposed a ban in September, said he’s confident the city can come up with a bylaw that will hold up in court.
"The Toronto ban had a problem, as I see it, because they tried to ban consumption," Jang told CBC News. "It's sort of like saying someone can't breathe or look at something anymore. Whereas what we're trying to do in Vancouver is simply looking at the sale and trade of shark fin, which is something different and under municipal powers."
An Ontario judge ruled earlier this month that it was not within the city’s powers to enforce a ban, after Toronto city council passed a bylaw in September that sought to prohibit the possession, sale and consumption of shark fin.
Shark fins are usually stewed in a soup and served at traditional Chinese weddings. It is a delicacy that can cost up to $100 a bowl.
Those who support the ban have said sharks are slaughtered inhumanely just for their fins. Anti-animal cruelty groups say more than 70 million sharks are killed each year through the practice of finning. But others argue they're killed humanely and that the consumption of shark fin is a traditional part of Chinese culture.
The city of Calgary also plans to ban the sale of shark fin products in the city. The bylaw is tentatively set to take effect next July.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- Teen's death sparks call for social services information
- The Alberta government wants to see changes on how provinces share information about children under the protection of social services. more »
- Christy Clark thanks Liberal MLAs in Vancouver
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark thanked her newly elected and re-elected MLAs in Vancouver on Thursday, who gathered for the first time following the Liberals' surprise victory in last week's provincial election. more »
- Pickup truck backs up over mother, 2 children in tent
- A 20-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly backing her pickup truck over a mother and two children who were sleeping in a tent at a campsite in northeastern B.C. more »
- Fever medicine for infants, children under recall
- Quality concerns with a Chinese producer of acetaminophen have prompted a recall of four fever medications meant for infants and children. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Toronto mayor fired chief of staff for telling him to 'go away and get help'
- CBC News has learned the details of what precipitated the firing of Mark Towhey as Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's chief of staff — and it was advice from Towhey that Ford needs to 'get help.' more »
- Federal Court won't remove MPs over robocall allegations
- The Federal Court says it won't throw six MPs out of their seats over allegations of widespread vote suppression through automated robocalls in the 2011 federal election. But Judge Richard Mosley did find that fraud occurred in the election. more »
- Alleged Ford crack video seller not responding to calls
- The journalist who broke the story alleging Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was recorded on video smoking crack cocaine says he may never be able to get his hands on the evidence. more »
- 3 injured in Washington state bridge collapse
- A Washington state bridge over a river collapsed Thursday evening, dumping two vehicles into the water and sparking a rescue effort by boats and divers who searched the chilly waterway north of Seattle. more »
- Bridge collapse on Washington interstate drops cars into water
- Pickup truck backs up over mother, 2 children in tent
- Vancouver man abandons Porsche on B.C. ferry
- Teen's death sparks call for social services information
- B.C. teen saves pet dog in 'terrifying' cougar attack
- Men found dead in B.C. lake wore oversized life-jackets
- Christy Clark thanks Liberal MLAs in Vancouver
- 750 homes sliding away in Quesnel, B.C.
- Johnsons Landing homes must be abandoned, says report

