Shark Fin off the menu at Chinese Government...

Shark Fin off the menu at Chinese Government banquets? Yes please.

Shark fin soup will likely be banned from official banquets in about three years, according to the Government Offices Administration of the State Council, reported the China Network Television yesterday.

The administration said the ban on shark fins at State functions is likely to take three years to implement but could be done in one or two years if proper conditions prevail.

The administration was responding to a proposal by 30 National People’s Congress deputies who called for shark fin to be taken off the menu at official banquets during this year’s “two sessions."

NPC delegate, Ding Liguo, also proposed at last year’s meeting that the country should outlaw the trading of shark fin in an effort to maintain the ecological balance of the world’s oceans.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on the other hand has ruled that publically funded official banquets "must not include exorbitant food materials and endangered species such as shark fin,” Tsang Tak-sing, secretary for Home Affairs of Hong Kong, said in May last year.

MAAMB: This might be just one step, but it’s a big one for the Chinese government. This might take three years to come into play, but it’s a move that will drastically raise awareness and set precedent for the whole country. And that’s pretty damn cool.

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