Chinese Shark Fin Soup Unappreciated

As the Olympics continue in Beijing, many travelers to the city are experiencing Chinese cuisine for the first time.

One high-profile Chinese delicacy is setting off alarms among environmentalists.

It’s called shark fin soup.

The soup, made from the stringy cartilage found inside shark’s fins, is responsible for the worldwide slaughter of millions of sharks.

The Washington Post reported in June that shark populations in the heavily fished Mediterranean have shrunk by 97 percent over the past 200 years.

Although finning is illegal in the United States and many parts of the world, the practice remains widespread due to its high demand.

KBOO’s Rebecca Nay spoke with Serda Ozbenian from the Animal Welfare Institute