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China Tang attacked for serving shark fin soup
Terry Kirby16 Jul 2009
One of London's most fashionable Chinese restaurants has become embroiled in a row over serving shark fin soup.
The Dorchester Hotel's China Tang - run by Hong Kong entrepreneur Sir David Tang - was strongly attacked by film-maker and conservationist Lord Anthony Rufus-Isaacs for offering him the soup.
However the restuarant rejected the complaint saying it had been 'a mistake'. Caroline Taylor, the general manager, said: "We took it off the menu several months ago because of ethical concerns. The waitress made a mistake in offering it."
Shark fin soup has been condemned by animal rights groups and conservationists because of the practice of 'finning' sharks and throwing them back into the sea to bleed to death.
Lord Anthony was reported as saying: "It is outrageous to be serving shark fin when there is a worldwide campaign to outlaw this terrible practice of 'finning' sharks. This is disgusting and in my opinion, not dissimilar to eating warm monkey brains."
He told the Standard: 'Lord Anthony Rufus-Isaacs must think that by virtue of the length of his name prefaced by an honorary title that entitles him to be exceedingly abusive to me and my entire Chiense nation.'
Originally served as a celebration dish on special occasions, the increase in the middle classes in China has led to a rise in demand for shark fins. About 20 species of shark are said to be under threat.
Lord Anthony said that he was inspired to complain after seeing The End of the Line, a film about the depletion of the world's fish resources.
The film also exposed Nobu's policy of keeping bluefin tuna - one of the world's most endangered species - on its menus. It has led to a boycott of the restaurant by celebrity customers including Trudie Styler, Stephen Fry and Elle Macpherson.
Reader views (10)
i cant beleive humans could be so cruel. were destroying the earth!! .. cant we leave any animals to suvive !! 100 million sharks get caught in nets, get there fins cut of then trown back in the sea. People are just cruel!
i go against sharks being killed, or any animal for that case. sharks are becoming extinct because of us, its not like were going to dei without it. A shark could be dangerous to us, but were the ones which are in its world, we cant blame them for having bad eyesite, it just how they were created. People are killing them fom their own land, then what would they do if they were on land!!
I SAY .. LET SHARKS LIVE.!
- Alana, malta, 23/07/2009 23:13
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Confused! Either Shark-fin soup was offered 'as a special' or not? True or false? Denial? Tang needs to stop waffling through his sycophantic PR people and come down hard openly against shark finning. No 'complexity' here! In the absence of Tang waking up and smelling the coffee, boycott. If he was clever he would assist in publicising this awful problem to his Chinese brethren. Asia needs to respect endangered species, whales, dolphins, rhino etc.
- David Blake, London England, 16/07/2009 16:51
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Given enough time and enough of them the Chinese will eat their way through every species on the planet to complete extinction.
When a chinese waiter asks if you would like it rare, he means the species not the cooking time.
- Kedge, wilts, england, 15/07/2009 21:26
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I had it once as I was seeing a chinese girl and her family ordered it along with those chicken feet that still haunt me to this day, anyway. The fin soup tastes of nothing and I can't see why they eat it...Terrible waste of an endangerd species.....
- Dac - Ealing, London, 15/07/2009 20:26
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Shark Finning is a pointless and sick practice! Sharks are highly inedible due to the high levels of TMA and Urea in their body tissues. Combine this with the collagen of the fin and you end up with a slice of chewy grizzly meat that taste like piss (literally). Thats why the soup is flavored with chicken stock until edible. Sound pointless yet???
- Tom Hird, Cheshire, 15/07/2009 20:26
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I like sharks fin soup. Don't know why they throw the rest of the shark back though as the rest of the fish must be edible as well.
- John, London, 15/07/2009 20:26
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"Sir David is said to have responded by saying that he had "done a lot" to understand the issues surrounding sharks and would not be "bullied"...."Just like climate change and other ecological questions, there are complexities which need sound and calm debate...". So Tang still needs more time to "understand" the horrible and cruel practice and the reason why sharks are "finned and throwed back into the sea to bleed to death"??
- Piera, milan, italy, 15/07/2009 20:26
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Shark finning is a barbaric and sick practice. Imagine someone cutting off your arms and legs whilst you are conscious, only then to be thrown into the water to drown and fall victim to other marine life. Sharks have a bad wrap due to the sensationalism of the media. Having swan and filmed sharks in many of our Oceans for television documentaries I can attest to their reluctance, in general, to share space with us. At a time when it is proven that many shark species are on the brink of extinction I am aghast to see such blatant disregard for their very survival. Actions by such companies as this are a clear signal they they fully accept dealing in endangered animal parts purely to appease the flailing libido of a sad sector of our society. In times when corporate entities are seeking to align themselves with environmentally aware programmes this cause is one that is screaming out to be adopted. Let's hope that this call doesn't go unanswered for too long.
- Mark Thorpe, Indonesia, 15/07/2009 20:26
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I wouldn't order it, but I suppose if the sharks could be killed humanely prior to 'finning' and the species were not put in danger, then it wouldn't seem as bad. I don't see what this has to do with China Tang though. It's not as if McDonalds or Starbucks were selling the stuff. I'm certain Mr Tang's order of fins can't compare to those consumed world-wide.
- Ben Farrell, London, 15/07/2009 20:26
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Disgusting. There is no place in Britain for this kind of barbaric nonsense. Sounds like Tang would serve tiger's pizzle to his discerning clientele if the price was right. Sickening. Boycott his businesses.
- Squiz, Islington, 15/07/2009 20:26
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