Shark finning - removing fins from live sharks and discarding the body at sea - causes extreme welfare harm to millions of sharks annually and drives population collapse.
Shark finning welfare harm is among the most acute in any commercial fishing practice. Sharks whose fins are removed sink to the seabed unable to swim - swimming is required for respiration in many species. Without the ability to move water through their gills, they suffocate slowly over hours while immobile on the seabed. The practice is driven by the high value of fins relative to the low value of shark meat, creating an economic logic that is entirely incompatible with welfare standards that would apply to any other animal. The scale of welfare harm - tens of millions of animals experiencing prolonged drowning annually - makes shark finning one of the largest-scale deliberate welfare atrocities in current commercial practice.