Subject: Please cosponsor H.R. 737/S. 877, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act to prohibit the sale of shark fins
Dear Legislator,
As your constituent, I urge you to cosponsor and push for the passage of H.R. 737/S. 877, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, which will prohibit the import, export, possession, trade, and distribution of shark fins and products containing shark fins.
The United States is one of the biggest players in the international trade of shark fins. Although our country prohibits shark finning -- a horrific practice in which fishermen cut off sharks' fins, then toss the mutilated animals back into the ocean where they drown, bleed to death, or are eaten alive by other fish -- many other countries do not. By participating in this global trade, the United States drives shark finning elsewhere, as well as the decline of shark populations globally.
[Your Comment] Sharks have occupied our oceans for 400 million years, but scientists warn that existing populations cannot sustain the current level of exploitation. Fins from as many as 73 million sharks are traded on the global market annually. From 2000 to 2011, an estimated 16,815 metric tons of shark fins were traded worldwide. Sharks are being killed 30 percent faster than they can reproduce.
By passing this bill and removing our country from the destructive shark fin trade, the United States expands our leadership in global shark conservation and strengthens the current ban on shark finning in U.S. waters.
It is crucial to protect vulnerable shark populations. Please pass H.R. 737/S. 877 to protect our ocean's great creatures.
Thank you.
[Your Name]