A four year ongoing investigation lead by the organization WildLifeRisk has finally paid off!
They BUSTED the largest whale shark slaughter house in the world.
The slaughter house was processing about 600 whale sharks per year.
The conservation group said that the slaughterhouse, located in China’s Zhejiang Province, is the likely the world’s largest shark abattoir – although it could be one of many – and that livers from sharks disembodied there supply an international beauty and health products trade that is “in contravention of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) regulations, as well as relevant Chinese national laws and regulations.”
The CITES regulations on whale shark trade state that any country exporting the fish must show that it was derived from a sustainable population. A whale shark can sell for about $31,000 right off the fishing boat, and from there it passes through an “elaborate network of agents and middlemen, many of whom may be unaware of the full conservation status of whale sharks,” WildLifeRisk said in a statement Monday.
WildLifeRisk officials investigated the processing plant, named “China Wenzhou Yueqing Marine Organisms Health Protection Foods Co Ltd,” for three years. The abattoir operates openly in PuQi township, which is near Wenzhou in southeastern Zhejiang province, about 300 miles south of Shanghai.
The products manufactured in the facility were imported to Europe and main cities around the world. Shark liver oil capsules amongst one of them.
This beautiful creatures deserve to live…
How to HELP?
Easy… DO NOT BUY products that contain any type of shark products. Are you smearing shark liver oil from endangered species on YOUR FACE?
READ all the ingredients in anything you buy, ASK about the products you buy. Where are they from? Who manufactures them? Is there a PLANT BASED alternative or substitute for this product?
You will be shocked to know that mother nature offers you an array of cruelty free options.
Hemp seed oil, flax seed oil, are much better for you and they give you the same omega fatty acids you are looking for in fish BUT you are not harming the ocean and you are NOT contributing to the distruction of the earth.
Here are some foods loaded with omegas:
Seeds, nuts, beans and their oils are the richest-known sources of the ‘good’ fats. Green leafy vegetables also contain these essential fats. Walnuts, linseed (flaxseed) and rapeseed oil (canola) are all exceptionally rich in omega-3 fats.
The best way to buy and store nuts, seeds and their oils is in very small quantities and to keep them in the fridge. This helps to ensure that they are as fresh as possible. These oils are not suitable for heating as it destroys the beneficial EFAs. Most healthfood shops and supermarkets sell packets of nuts and seeds and blended plant oils – usually marketed as oils rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fats. They contain information on how much oil to use each day. With whole seeds and nuts, a handful each day is normally sufficient. Olive oil can be used for cooking.
Remember to only buy ORGANIC.
Aloha
~Oriana
Photo by Shawn Heinrichs
