Item - 2011.LS7.2

The Licensing and Standards Committee referred this item to the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards with the request to:

1.         Report back as soon as possible to the Licensing and Standards Committee and Council on a by-law that would prohibit the possession, sale, and consumption of all shark fin products in Toronto.

City Council on June 14 and 15, 2011, referred Motion MM9.3 to the Licensing and Standards Committee.

Sharks are being slaughtered world-wide at the rate of over 70 million per year; with experts agreeing that sharks could be extinct within 10 to 20 years at the current rate of slaughter.

Shark finning is a wasteful, inhumane practice that involves cutting off a shark's fins and then tossing the still-live shark back overboard to drown, bleed to death, or be eaten alive by other animals. While shark fins are considered a delicacy in some restaurants, they have no significant nutritional value and are considered unhealthy for human consumption due to the accumulation of high levels of mercury and other toxins in the fins and flesh.

The Canadian government has banned "shark finning" in Canadian waters since 1994 as has the United States (2009) and the European Community (2003); but the sale of shark fins continues in cities across Canada and the world. States and municipal governments - including Hawaii, Guam, Washington State, Oregon and California - representing over 47 million people have introduced or proposed bans on the trade and consumption of shark fins; with legislators in mainland China and Indonesia initiating bans and restrictions as well. The City of Brantford, Ontario is the first municipality in Canada to ban shark fins.

(Submitted to City Council on June 14 and 15, 2011 as MM9.3)