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Poll: Over 80 pct of Americans back Kilili’s shark fin trade ban
A new national poll shows that 81 percent of Americans support Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan’s (Ind-MP) bill to ban the trade of shark fins in the United States, he said.
The national poll, conducted by the non-partisan polling company iCitizen, surveyed 1,000 registered American voters online from July 12-15 and found broad bipartisan support for the legislation, according to the conservation group, Oceana, which released the poll on Sablan’s “Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act” last week.
“An even greater number, 89 percent, agree that shark finning is a cruel and wasteful practice,” Sablan said in his newsletter Saturday. “Our local government, along with two other insular areas and 11 states, has already passed shark fin legislation.”
Other than Sablan, Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) introduced the bill that would ban the trade of shark fins in the United States.
“It’s clear that Americans support a ban on the trade of shark fins—and Congress should listen,” said Oceana campaign director Lora Snyder in a statement last week. “The demand for shark fins, a demand the U.S. currently perpetuates, encourages the cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning and is decimating shark populations worldwide, much like the demand for elephant tusks and rhino horns has severely jeopardized those animal populations. Currently, 11 U.S. states have taken action to protect sharks and have banned the sale of fins, but the rest of the country needs to follow their example. The American public knows that shark fins have no place in the United States.”
