Campaign by Shark Savers Singapore gains ground as more organisations are saying 'no' to shark's fin
Tan Weizhen Today Online 12 Nov 12;
SINGAPORE - The anti-shark's fin movement is gaining traction, with more organisations - including at least two government ministries - coming on board in recent months to officially take the dish off the menu at their functions.
Apart from some organisations joining campaigns by conservation groups, others have taken their own initiative to say "no" to shark's fin.
Since Sharks Savers Singapore started rolling out its campaign at the beginning of the year, eight companies - including Hong Kong-based City Chain, homegrown companies Optical88 and Pets Lovers Centre, as well as South-east Asia's largest furniture retailer Courts - have heeded its call to stop consuming the dish at corporate functions.
Other companies such as SingTel - Singapore's largest company by market capitalisation - and international banks Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank have also taken the dish off the menu at corporate events.
A SingTel spokesperson said: "As part of its environmental campaign, SingTel has officially taken shark's fin off the menu for company functions, corporate events and dinners for customers since March this year. In addition, we do not offer shark's fin products for customer redemption in our Red Rewards programme. Staff who order gifts for customers are also required to avoid items containing shark's fin products."
The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and the Ministry for Environment (MEWR) have also hopped onto the bandwagon.
A MEWR spokesman said it makes "a conscious decision" to avoid shark's fin on the menu for official functions, with MinLaw adding that it has done so since earlier this year.
Shark Savers Singapore Director, Mr Jonn Lu, reasoned it was "more difficult for government agencies" to join the cause, as shark's fin is part of Singapore's trade. Last year,Singapore imported about 3,500 tonnes of shark's fin, 40 per cent more than the previous year.
Mr Lu said Shark Savers are targeting its campaign mainly at Singapore and Asian companies.
"We want local companies to come on board and Singaporean CEOs to make this pledge. It doesn't make sense, for instance, for Bill Gates to come and tell Singaporeans not to eat shark's fin. This isn't a foreign imported agenda,"said Mr Lu.
Mr Lu added that approaching Asian companies is more effective in influencing mindsets, as compared to Western multi-national companies.
He said: "Chinese consumption of shark's fin soup accounts for the lion's share of the market demand ... if the Chinese can reduce consumption, the shark depletion problem won't be as urgent."
Apart from taking the dish off the menu at corporate functions, the companies involved in Shark Savers' campaign engage their staff on the issue.
For instance, Courts - which has about 2,000 employees in Singapore and Malaysia - has had its key managerial staff sit through "shark conservation education sessions", while its other employees watched videos "on the importance of sharks to the marine environment".
"As a responsible corporate entity, it is our role to look at practices that may be harmful to the environment and then implement change to shift mindsets,"said Courts CEO Terry O'Connor.
Pet Lovers Centre said in August that it had informed and educated its 1,000-strong staff about its new policy of "not ordering or serving any shark's fin at any corporate event".
It added: "We understand the cruelty of how shark's fin is obtained, and therefore decided to undertake this policy a few months ago, as part of our internal corporate social responsibility."
While various organisations are warming up to the cause, some remain on the fence, including the People'sAssociation.
A PA spokesman said: "The serving and consumption of shark's fin at constituency events is left to the discretion of the Organising Committees of the respective events."
