Reply from Resorts World Sentosa, Straits Times Forum 5 Jun 08;
WE REFER to Mr Ace Kindred Cheong's online letter yesterday, 'Shark's fins menu: Why the double standards?', penned in response to Resorts World at Sentosa's (RWS) decision not to have shark's fin on the menu when we open in 2010.
First, we are glad to have another supporter for the shark conservation cause. RWS decided last year that we would not want to have shark's fin on the menu in order to advance our message to protect the oceans.
It is a bold decision for any casino resort to take, given that the majority of customers to global casinos are Asians, for whom delicacies such as shark's fin soup is a popular item at banquets.
RWS' final decision carries the concession that an exemption will be made only in the private gaming rooms, only upon request, and only if the customer rejects similar quality alternatives on the menu.
We recognise that this policy is a compromise, not the ideal, and open to criticism. Nevertheless, we are consoled by the fact that having the dish removed from menus effectively does away with at least 90 per cent of any shark's fin that could have been consumed on the premises.
We had to contend with a piece of business reality, but we believe that taking the first step to make a difference is better than not moving at all.
RWS' hope is that, somewhere down the road, we could report that we have not had to serve up a single bowl of shark's fin at the resort, for as long as shark finning remains unsustainable. To do that, we would need all the help from conservation supporters like Mr Cheong. You could help us convince the unconverted.
Krist Boo,
Vice-President, Communications
Resorts World at Sentosa
