Hannah Quinlivan Speaks For Sharks

On Saturday in Taipei, WildAid and Life Conservationist Association launched a new campaign featuring Hannah Quinlivan. The actress and model is appearing in video and print public service announcements that carry the message “Say ‘No’ to Shark Fin and ‘Yes’ to Ocean Protection.”

International conservation organization WildAid is committed to ending illegal wildlife trafficking by to reducing market demand for illegal and unsustainable wildlife products like shark fin soup. Because of the popularity of shark fin soup at Lunar New Year dinners, WildAid and Hannah Quinlivan have chosen this moment to call on the public to stop eating it.

“WildAid has been working to persuade people in many countries to stop eating and serving shark fin soup. With the influence of our awareness campaign, in China alone, the market demand for shark fin has dropped by 50-70%,” said WildAid Chief Program Officer John Baker. “Still, too many sharks are killed for their fins, shark populations are depleted and many species are still endangered,” he said.

Since becoming a mother, WildAid Ambassador Hannah Quinlivan has become increasingly concerned about the health of her children and family. With Lunar New Year just two weeks away, she is urging consumers not to eat shark fin soup in order to protect the health of their families, as well as the wellbeing of sharks and their ocean habitats.

“The culture of eating shark fin—although I have not yet heard of anyone dying from it— will affect health, because of the heavy metals contained in the bodies of deep sea fish. And it also damages the ecological balance of the sea due to excessive shark fishing,” said Zhang Zhang-de, Chairman of the Life Conservationist Association. “The simplest way to put an end to this is to stop eating shark fin.”