Shark finning — removing fins from live sharks and discarding the body at sea — is one of the cruellest and most ecologically damaging practices in global fisheries.
Finned sharks drown or are eaten alive over hours or days — an extreme welfare harm with no justification. Even sharks killed quickly for fins experience the stress of capture and crowding before death. The ecological loss of apex predators disrupts marine ecosystems that billions of smaller animals depend on.