Yao Ming aims to quell China’s appetite for shark fin
NBA star and Shanghai Sharks owner Yao Ming urged China on Friday to say no to shark fin soup to stop the overfishing of some species amid growing demand for the delicacy.
The Houston Rockets centre who recently bought his hometown’s professional team unveiled a television commercial aimed at wealthy Chinese which urges them to stop ordering shark fin soup.
“We have species that need our attention and protection,” Yao told reporters at a press conference launching the campaign.
“They are endangered by excessive hunting by humans and deprived of habitats due to human greed.”
The television advertisement produced for the San Francisco-based conservation group WildAid shows Yao pushing away a bowl of shark fin soup that is served to him in an upmarket restaurant.
“If you could see how shark fin is made, could you still eat it?” a voice asks as Yao looks at an aquarium in the dining room where a bleeding shark flails after its fin has been cut off.
One by one, sharply dressed diners push their bowls away as Yao says: “When the buying stops, the killing can too.”
The ad will air on China Central Television — the government’s main broadcast mouthpiece — and on screens in government buildings, a WildAid spokeswoman said. [...]
