Post(human-animal)

California shark fin bill passed!

2011-10-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

GOVERNOR BROWN ACTS TO PROTECT OCEANS AND ENVIRONMENT
10-7-2011

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed legislation to protect the oceans and the environment. AB 376, by Assemblyman Paul Fong (D-Cupertino), bans the possession and sale of shark fins in California. The practice of “finning” for culinary purposes has led to substantial declines in shark populations worldwide.

“The practice of cutting the fins off of living sharks and dumping them back in the ocean is not only cruel, but it harms the health of our oceans,” said Governor Brown. “Researchers estimate that some shark populations have declined by more than 90 percent, portending grave threats to our environment and commercial fishing. In the interest of future generations, I have signed this bill.”

While many countries have already banned the practice, it continues unabated in unregulated international waters. By banning the possession and sale of shark fins, California joins Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and Guam in an effort to reduce demand and protect shark populations.

In addition to AB 376, Governor Brown also signed a companion bill by Assemblyman Fong, AB 853, which allows existing stocks of on-hand shark fins to be sold until July 1, 2013.

For full text of the bills, visit: http://leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html.

Frequently asked questions about the California shark fin bill (in English and Chinese)

2011-10-05T15:47:00.000-07:00

Useful documents on AB 376:

What is shark finning? (AB 376 FINNING FINAL.pdf)
Four Facts about AB 376 (AB 376 Four Facts.pdf)
Rebuttal to claims made about AB 376 (Rebuttals to Oppo Claims from Cmte_FINAL_0823.pdf)
Letter from scientists regarding sharks being at risk and the prevalence of shark finning (ScrippsInstitutionOfOceanographyAB376.pdf)
Fin Trade vs. Other Shark-Sourced Products (pdf)
Myth & Reality (pdf)
Poll: California's Chinese Americans Overwhelmingly Support Ban On Shark Fin Trade
Shark Champion Awards recognise efforts of Chinese campaigners: 丁立國, 萬捷, 張醒生
API support for shark fin bill
"My Word" by Christopher Chin

One-third of pelagic (open ocean) sharks are threatened with extinction. Reference: In the following IUCN report published by the Shark Specialist Group (http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/ssg_pelagic_report_final.pdf), Tables 4 lists the conservation status for all known pelagic shark species.

Claim: AB 376 is racially motivated, discriminates unfairly, or targets Chinese-Americans.

Truth: AB 376 was authored by a Chinese-American, and enjoys the support of an overwhelming number of Chinese-American groups and individuals, including prominent elected officials and two of San Francisco 's own mayoral candidates. To claim this is racially motivated is absolutely preposterous. While the bulk of shark fins in California may be consumed by Chinese-Americans, that is irrelevant.

Shark fins are simply a product that is decimating our shark populations and destroying our oceans.

In fact, Ding Liguo, deputy to the National People's Congress in China, proposed that China 's top legislature should ban the trade of shark fin. Ding said, "Only legislation can stop shark fin trading and reduce the killings of sharks".

It is NOT discriminatory to ban shark fin and not other shark products or all shark fishing, because the demand for shark fin is by far the largest cause for the killing of sharks [NOAA "2010 Shark Finning Report to Congress", p21-23*].

According to the data of shark fishing in Hawaii, the number of sharks fished before the federal shark-finning ban (1999) is 200-400 times the number of sharks fished a year after the ban (2001) [NOAA "2010 Shark Finning Report to Congress", p21-23*]. This shows dramatically that most sharks are fished predominantly for their fins, and that given the chance, many people will fish sharks predominantly for their fins.

Two weeks prior to the bill's introduction, a poll was conducted among a random sample of California voters to find out their thoughts about shark fins and the practice of shark finning. The vast majority of voters (82 percent) expressed concern about the impact of shark finning. Even more Chinese-American voters were concerned – 86 percent. 76 percent of all those surveyed, and 70 percent of the Chinese-Americans all supported a statewide ban on shark fins. That's not to indicate that the remainder opposed a ban; among Chinese-Americans, only 18 percent of voters oppose the ban and 12 percent expressed no opinion.

訛傳：AB376法案帶有種族歧視意涵，並不公平，而且是針對華裔美人而提的。

真相：AB376法案是由華裔美人議員所提，且獲得極多華裔美人組織和個別選民的全力支持，包括著名的民選官員以即兩位舊金山的市長候選人。說這個法案帶有種族歧視，是再也荒謬不過的事了。儘管加州大部份的魚翅是華裔美人在食用的，但是這並不是重點。魚翅是一種導致鯊魚數量急遽減少、摧毀我們海洋的一種可怕產品。

事實上，中國人大代表丁立國就曾經建議立法禁止魚翅貿易。他指出，「唯有立法才能停止魚翅交易，並且減少鯊魚的屠殺。」

禁止魚翅的買賣銷售，而未禁其他鯊魚產品及所有捕鯊活動，與歧視並無關連：這是因為對魚翅的需求，很明顯是鯊魚遭無節制捕獵的最主要原因（美國海洋暨大氣總署(NOAA)『2010年國會獵鯊割鰭報告』，第21到23頁）。

夏威夷鯊魚保護法案實施前和實施後兩種不同的捕鯊入港的紀錄，在在證實了一個現象：人類對魚翅的需求的確是捕鯊活動最主要的原因。在聯邦政府頒布獵鯊取翅禁令前（1999年），捕鯊量是禁令實施後（2001年）的四百倍。

在推出AB376兩個星期前，加州選民進行了一項民意調查，以便反映他們對於魚翅和獵鯊取鰭的看法。絕大多數的選民（百分之八十二）對於獵鯊取鰭這種殘忍作為表示擔憂。百分之八十六的華裔美人表示十分擔心。在所有接受民調的選民中，有百分之七十六的選民 – 以及百分之七十的華裔美人 – 表示支持州立法案禁止魚翅。這並不表示其他選民反對魚翅禁令；在所有的華裔美人中，只有百分之十八的選民反對AB376，而百分之十二不表示意見。

Claim: AB 376 targets only fins, and doesn't ban (a) other shark products, or (b) all shark fishing

Truth: This is true, but for good reason. It is the demand for shark fins that is fueling the rampant destruction of shark populations. Just as elephants were once hunted for their ivory tusks, sharks are often killled solely for their fins. If sharks were targeted for their nictitating membranes, as an imaginary example, this bill, as well we all the aforementioned legislation, would be addressing shark eye parts instead.

訛傳：AB376法案只針對魚翅，並不禁止其他的鯊魚產品或是所有捕鯊活動。

事實：的確如此，但是這個禁令的原因很充分。對魚翅的需求，正是全球鯊魚數量銳減的元兇。我們就從象牙的觀點來看好了：大象之所以遭屠殺，正是因為人類貪求牠們的象牙；而鯊魚也正是因著人類對魚翅的需求而大肆遭獵殺。

1. Illegal vs. legal shark fishing

Shark-fins are so much more valuable than any other part of the shark that it causes the large-scale indiscriminate, illegal killing of sharks.

1. 非法與合法捕鯊活動

魚翅比鯊魚身上的任何部份都要有價值得多，因此才會導致這麼大規模、非法的獵殺。

2. Shark fin is the most valuable part of the shark and contributes most to shark endangerment.

Shark fins are by far the most valuable part of the shark and can fetch $600 a pound or more in the shark fin trade. The vast majority sharks are targeted for their fins and the rest of the shark is discarded. Shark products, e.g. shark meat, have very low demand. Low prices or non-existent markets for shark meat discourage further retention. Indeed, shark meat exported from the United States goes for only $1 a pound — fifty times less than shark fin. Fins, by contrast, are highly valuable, and because they can be air-dried on the ship's rigging and stored compactly, they're essentially free money.

2. 鯊魚是鯊魚身上最有價值的部分，也是讓鯊魚瀕臨絕種的主因。

魚翅的價值遠比鯊魚身上所有的部分要高得多，在魚翅交易中，一磅的魚翅要價達六百美元，甚至可能更高。絕大部分的鯊魚都是因為漁夫貪圖牠們的魚鰭而犧牲的，一旦魚鰭遭割下，其餘的魚身都被丟回大海中。其他的鯊魚產品，像是鯊魚肉，是沒有市場價值的。由於鯊魚肉沒有市值，漁民就沒有興趣將整條鯊魚留在漁船上。來自美國的鯊魚肉一磅只賣一美元，比等重的魚翅要便宜五十倍。相較之下，魚翅的價值就高得多了，而由於魚翅可以掛在船上的索具上風乾，收納也很方便，魚翅基本上而言是一種不費吹灰之力就可以獲得的暴利。

3. Because shark fin contributes most to shark endangerment, ending the demand for shark fin will address the problem most efficiently.

Sharks are in serious trouble, and banning all shark fishing may not be a bad idea. However, that's a much larger endeavor, and affects many more stakeholders, including local (and currently managed and regulated) fishing efforts. Such a grand and overarching effort would involve a disproportionate amount of buy-in relative to the animals in question. In other words, sharks are most often killed for their fins, and ending that demand will save many more sharks than almost any other effort. This is something we can do NOW.

As an analogy, think about recycling efforts. Does it make sense to hold back an entire recycling program until you have perfected a waste stream management in place for every single item? No. Start where you can, and with an effort that you think will make a difference. In fact, whether it's with newspaper, glass, cans, or PET (1) containers, all municipalities involved in recycling start somewhere, and usually later add on.

That's what we're doing here. We're trying to do the most effective (and absolutely necessary) thing.

3. 由於魚翅是鯊魚遭大量屠殺的主因，禁魚翅是拯救鯊魚最有效率的作為。

鯊魚面臨前所未有的生存威脅，而全面禁止捕鯊不見得是個壞主意。然而，這種提議的工程浩大，會影響許多利害關係人，包括了地方（在目前有良善經營管理）的捕魚業者。這麼浩大且包羅萬象的提案，就我們現在在討論的鯊魚而言，會牽涉到相當可觀的購買和販售細節。換言之，由於鯊魚是因為魚鰭而遭屠殺，禁止魚翅的販售持有，會比現有其他作為能有效地拯救鯊魚，這也是我們現在可以辦得到的。

就以資源回收為例。我們難道要等到有一個完美的垃圾管理系統來處理所有的垃圾細項，才開始做資源回收嗎？當然不！你現在能做甚麼，就放手去做，只要對環境有益的任何作為，你就展開行動。不論是報紙、玻璃、罐頭，或是保特瓶，所有的資源回收都是從某個起點開始的，之後再慢慢增加項目。

這正是我們要作的。我們正要為鯊魚採取最有效率（且有絕對必要）的保護措施。

Claim: If imports are the problem, than we should just ban imports and allow shark fins obtained from domestic fisheries to be sold.

Truth: If imports were to be banned, and only domestic shark catches were used as a source for fins, it could divert an extreme amount of pressure on local sharks to meet the demand of the shark fin trade.

According to the California Dept of Fish & Game, in 2009, less than 321,000 pounds of shark were landed commercially in California. Since fins represent approximately 5% of a shark's body weight, that's not really a lot compared to the fin stocks you find on Californiashelves, let alone those that are passing through Californiaports on their way to other U.S.destinations.

Since locally caught supply would pale in comparison to the quantity seen in imports, the scarcity would provide disparity in the marketplace, and would likely drive prices up, further putting pressure on the local fisheries. Such situations are fertile ground for black market dealings and increased systemic abuses.

Also, looking at past commercial efforts targeting shark species, one can't help but be reminded of the aptly-named soupfin shark. Epitomizing the definition of UNsustainable, the fishery collapsed as the populations were quickly decimated. That was nearly 70 years ago and populations have still not yet recovered, and are still considered threatened.

Moreover, this solution is legally infeasible; federal law and international trade rules prevent California from banning shark fin imports.

We can't prevent the importation of fins from illegally-finned sharks due to international trade laws. This means that we can't prevent illegal fins from entering the country. It is very difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal fins. Thus the only way to stop illegal fins from entering the market is to ban all fins, both legal and illegal.

Illegal shark fins are very difficult and expensive to distinguish from legal ones. Using legal trade to cover illegal activity is a very common method. Say I'm a restaurant owner and I buy 'legal' shark fins, and at the same time I slip in illegal shark fins, to make shark fin soup for my customers. To get away with this, when the inspector comes, all I have to do is to show her/him my receipts for the 'legal' fins I had purchased, which I update daily to approximately match the weight of the illegal fins. I'm sure people can think of other ways...

People are ingenious at finding ways to get around rules to profit off of shark fins. As another example, after the sale of foie gras was banned in Chicago, restaurants gave away foie gras for free to customers who bought an expensive salad, to get around the "no-selling" rule.

There is no way to track the chain of custody of individual shark fins without exorbitant cost and without inviting laundering and fraud. The state has no money to cover the cost. A label/receipt/form is not a real option, because these types of documents do not accurately track chain of custody (especially for high-priced luxury items like shark fin or elephant ivory) and they are subject to massive fraud. Such schemes have been tried and failed disastrously to protect species.

Sharks around the world are in trouble as long as the shark fin trade is allowed to continue.

訛傳：若魚翅進口是問題所在，那麼我們就只需禁止鯊魚的進口就好，且准許當販賣地漁市所捕獲的鯊魚魚鰭即可。

事實：如果禁止使用進口鯊魚，卻仍允許地方捕獲的鯊魚來滿足市場對魚翅的需求，這將對地方海域生存的鯊魚造成極大的生存威脅。

根據加州漁獵部門在2009年所公布的數據，在加州，商業用鯊魚漁獲量還不到三十二萬一千磅。由於魚翅佔鯊魚重量的百分之五，你就可以算得出來，在加州中藥店架上所販賣的魚翅乾貨，其實僅有少數的鯊魚是來自當地的漁獲量，而那些經過加州各漁港進口到美國其他地方的魚翅，自然即有極少數是屬於當地漁貨量所捕獵的鯊魚了。

由於地方所捕獲的鯊魚跟進口鯊魚漁獲量相距甚遠，而地方捕獲鯊魚量既然不夠應付需求，會加劇市場的價格差異，使得價格上揚，讓地方漁業捕鯊的壓力遽增。這種狀況會黑市的魚翅交易更嚴重，使得系統更遭濫用。

另外，當我們檢視之前以鯊魚為主的商業政策，我們不得不想到所謂的魚翅羹鯊魚－獵捕這種鯊魚的商業活動，全然缺少可續性可言；魚翅羹鯊魚的漁業不但完全崩解，而這種鯊魚的數量也大量減少。這是七十年前的事情了，而這種鯊魚的數量還未恢復，依然飽受威脅。

除此之外，這種作法在法律上是根本不可行的；聯邦和國際貿易法妨礙了加州禁止魚翅的進口。

由於國際貿易法的緣故，我們無法阻止非法遭屠殺之鯊魚身上所砍下的魚鰭進口到加州來。這意味著我們無法阻止非法魚翅進入美國。分別合法和非法的魚翅，是困難重重的工作。因此，禁止非法魚翅進入市場的唯一方法，就是禁止所有魚翅－無論合法或非法與否－的買賣、交易和持有。

要分辨魚翅的合法性非常困難而且昂貴。用合法買賣行為來掩護非法活動是司空見慣的事。假設我是餐廳老闆，我購買合法魚翅，卻又同時偷偷走私非法魚翅到我餐廳來作魚翅羹供給客戶食用。為了要掩護這種行為，我只要在檢查官員來訪時給他們看我購買的合法魚翅的收據就好了。我每天都會更新這些收據上的明細，使明細上的非法魚翅重量符合收據上的標示即可。漏洞到處可鑽。

人類總有方法鑽法律漏洞從魚翅上獲利。再舉個例子，當芝加哥禁止鵝肝後，餐廳即提供免費額肝給那些購買昂貴沙拉的客戶，避開「禁賣鵝肝」的規定。

要追蹤每片魚翅的來源和擁有者，需要投注昂貴的成本，而在過程中也容易導致洗錢和詐欺。加州沒有財政資源來補貼魚翅追蹤活動。而標籤/收據/表格也不足成為追蹤魚翅來源的利器，因為這類的文件並無法實際追蹤魚翅保管過程的每個細節（特別就象牙和魚翅等高價的奢侈品而言），而且這類的文件很容易遭複製或竄改。前人均試過這種系統，但是都效果不彰，完全無法保護瀕危動物物種。

只要魚翅交易還持續著，全世界所有的鯊魚均免不了可怕的生存危機，牠們的生存危機也就是你的生存危機。

Claim: We should allow fins to be taken from a sustainable shark fishery.

Truth: The concept of sustainable shark fishing is an interesting one. Certainly, landing sharks with fins naturally attached is more desirable than finning, but it's hard to qualify a fishery as sustainable when the animals in question take so long to reach maturity, reproduce so seldom, and have so few young when they do breed. As such, they're inherently susceptible to overfishing, and nowhere is the world is there a shark fishery that's considered "sustainable."

訛傳：我們應准許來自永續鯊魚漁業的魚翅。

事實：所謂的永續鯊魚漁業，是個很有趣的概念。的確，全魚（仍保留魚翅）入港比獵鯊割翅要好得多，但是鯊魚要歷經多年才會成熟，鮮少繁殖，而且孕育的幼鯊少之又少。就是因為如此，牠們在先天上就很容易成為過度捕撈的犧牲品，而且全世界沒有任何鯊魚漁業是真的「永續」。

Claim: Shark fin bans are not necessary, since we already have the Federal Shark Conservation Act.

Truth: While the Federal Shark Conservation Act prohibits the finning of sharks in U.S.waters, this only affects sharks caught in U.S. waters by appropriately registered vessels. This is a wonderful piece of legislation and helps protect sharks in federal jurisdictions, but, unfortunately, this has little to do with the global fin trade. As previously mentioned, the fins sold in California are culled from sharks caught in other fisheries, and are processed elsewhere before coming to the U.S. as an unidentifiable fin.

Since such a large percentage of sharks are already considered endangered, and since the practice of finning is conducted without regard to species, age, or gender, it is no surprise that even endangered species are being slaughtered. DNA sequencing of a recent sampling of fins for sale in San Francisco revealed that endangered species, such as the great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran), are represented on San Francisco shelves. In fact, the random sampling of fins by the California Academy of Sciences found that one-half of the sampled fins were from threatened species.

訛傳：禁止魚翅是不必要的，因為美國已經有聯邦鯊魚保護法案了。

事實：聯邦政府的鯊魚保護法案禁止在美國海域獵鯊割鰭，但是注意：這個法案僅僅會影響那些有註冊營業漁船在美國海域所捕獲的鯊魚。這個法案立意良好，能保護聯邦司法管轄範圍下的鯊魚，很遺憾地，這個法案對全球魚翅交易的影響少之又少。如之前所提，在加州所販售的魚翅，都是從其他漁業業者所殘忍捕殺的鯊魚身上所割下的，在進入美國之前就先處理過了，因此是無法辨認來源的魚翅。

由於大部分的鯊魚都瀕臨絕種，而由於漁民在獵鯊割鰭時根本不會考慮到鯊魚的物種、年齡、或是性別，瀕絕的鯊魚當然也會遭毫無節制的屠殺。近日一項在舊金山販賣的魚翅上所貼的染色體排序顯示，極度瀕臨絕種的大雙髻鯊的魚翅，居然在舊金山中國乾貨店也找得到。事實上，根據加州科學學院的染色體排序研究，目前所出售的魚翅，有一半都是取自瀕臨絕種的鯊魚。

Claim: California law already bans finning - we do not need additional laws.

Truth: Yes, while finning is illegal in California and U.S. waters, these are not the fins that are being consumed. Banning shark fins in Californiawill literally help save sharks around the world.

訛傳：加州法律已經禁止獵鯊割鰭了，我們不需要其他的法規。

事實：沒錯，雖然獵鯊割鰭在加州和美國海域是違法的，但是在這些海域所獲取的魚翅並非是加州人所食用之魚翅的主要來源。加州若立法禁止魚翅的買賣持有，其實就等於幫助拯救全世界的鯊魚。

Claim: AB 376 is stringent and punitive; instead, the State should focus on education.

Truth: Education and Awareness are both great. COARE maintains both among its tenets... unfortunately, in this case education is simply not enough. Relying solely on education as an approach to this problem is akin to suggesting that drugs don't have to be illegal; we could simply teach people not to use them.

Granted, younger generations are more aware of the plight of the ocean, but we cannot wait for the generational shift, and we must act now. Many people are learning about sharks and this critical need for conservation as a result of this legislative effort.

訛傳：AB376法案既嚴格又苛刻。加州應該多注意關於鯊魚的教育才是。

事實：教育和宣導都是很好的理念。COARE把兩個都列為主要目標，但遺憾的是，就鯊魚保育而言，單單只有教育是不足的。光靠教育來解決鯊魚瀕臨絕種的問題是徒然的，這跟我們提倡不要把毒品非法化，但是教導人別使用毒品的道理是一樣的道理。

年輕的一代對於海洋所面臨的各種問題確實更具概念，但是我們沒有時間等世代的轉移來改變觀念，我們現在就得採取行動。有愈來愈多人開始明瞭鯊魚所遭受的苦難，也知道立法保護鯊魚的迫切性。

Claim: Most sharks are not threatened with extinction.

Truth: It is easy to see how someone might make this claim, since "only" one third of all pelagic sharks are considered threatened with extinction. Only? First, the fact that one-third of the known shark species are considered threatened should give anyone pause. That is not an insignificant number - especially when you take into consideration their crucial role in the ocean. Additionally, that statistic should not be taken to suggest that the other two-thirds are abundant. In fact, the IUCN considers an additional 25% of the pelagic sharks to be "data-deficient" – meaning that we do not have enough historical or current data to assess their populations. Some of those populations may turn out to be fine, but some may also be critically endangered.

To use this argument as an excuse to brazenly continue fishing with impunity is not only short-sighted, but unconscionable.

訛傳：大部分的鯊魚並沒有瀕臨絕種。

事實：我們不難了解為什麼有人會這樣誤傳，因為畢竟「只有」三分之一的遠洋鯊魚正遭致絕種威脅。但…真的是「只有」嗎？第一，三分之一的已知鯊魚魚種面臨生存危機，這是事實，且是個警訊。當你考量到鯊魚對海洋生態平衡的重要性時，你就會知道這個數據其實是非常可怕的。此外，我們也不該誤以為其餘的三分之二魚種仍為數眾多。事實上，除了三分之一瀕臨絕種的鯊魚之外，國際自然保護聯盟（IUCN）還將另外的百分之二十五物種列為「缺乏資訊」－這意思是我們對這百分之二十五的鯊魚魚種還十分陌生，缺乏足夠的歷史或現有資訊來評估牠們的數量。有些數量可能堪稱足夠，但事實上，有些相當可能已經面臨絕種。

用這個藉口來持續毫無節制地獵殺鯊魚既短視且荒謬。

Claim: Don’t ban the shark fin trade -we should ban the killing of listed endangered sharks, but allow unlisted sharks to be killed for their fins.

Truth: Strict laws already protect listed sharks, yet listed and unlisted sharks are still slaughtered for their high-priced fins and the current demand trajectory for fins puts both at risk. It is impossible to identify whether a shark fin was removed from a listed or unlisted shark without costly and time-consuming DNA analysis conducted for each fin. This is not feasible, making this proposal unenforceable. Moreover, as previously noted, some sharks not yet listed as threatened may very well be in dangerous decline.

訛傳：不要禁止魚翅交易－我們應該禁止被列管為有瀕臨絕種危機的鯊魚，且仍繼續容許漁夫獵捕未被列管的鯊魚以便取鰭。

事實：被列管為有瀕臨絕種危機的鯊魚已經有嚴格的法律在保護牠們了，但不管有沒有列管，由於魚翅的利潤驚人，所有的鯊魚仍遭大規模獵捕割鰭，而目前的市場需求使得所有鯊魚－無論列管與否－都面臨絕種危機。要檢查每一片魚翅的基因組合，以辨識該魚鰭是從列管還是未被列管的鯊魚上割下來，不但花費可觀，也很費時，是根本不可能的任務。這個提議不可行，也無從執行。還有，如上所提，那些尚未被列管為保護物種的鯊魚，數目很有可能已經在大幅下降了。

Claim: Banning shark fins will hurt small businesses.

Truth: Shark fin soup is most often served in banquet settings and at official celebratory events like a Chinese wedding. Smaller restaurants serve shark fin soup much less often than larger banquet halls do. However, to compete with larger restaurants, small restaurants often feel obliged to offer shark fin soup just in case someone requests it, lest they lost potential customers.

Some restaurateurs would prefer, for philosophical or ethical reasons, not to be obligated to offer it, and some would simply prefer to avoid it since it is an expensive ingredient to stock for infrequent use. In either case, we have had proprietors tell us "just make it illegal so we don't have to sell it." AB 376 helps maintain a level playing field.

訛傳：禁止魚翅會傷到小型企業。

事實：魚翅羹是在宴會和中國式婚禮等正式場合才會喝得到。比起大型宴會廳，小餐廳是不常供應魚翅羹的。然而為了要與大型宴會廳競爭，小餐廳會覺得有必要在菜單上也加入這道菜，以便在客人點這道菜時能夠滿足顧客需要，免得失去客戶。

有些餐廳業者為了哲學和道德緣故，寧願拒絕供應這道餐點；有些餐廳因為魚翅昂貴，就乾脆完全不供應。無論如何，有業者告訴我們：「快禁售魚翅吧，這樣我們就沒有壓力要供應魚翅羹了。」AB376法案讓市場競爭維持公平。

Claim: AB 376 will hurt the economy and kill jobs.

Truth: For those restaurants that serve it, shark fin soup is only one seldom ordered item on a menu with a plethora of other and more common choices. Even at banquets and celebrations where the soup is featured, it is only a single serving among nine or ten courses. End consumers and restaurants alike each purchase their fins from grocery stores, trading companies, and seafood suppliers which sell a myriad of other products; shark fins are far from their sole source of income.

Moreover, the fins sold in California markets and shops and the fins served in California restaurants do not come from sharks caught in California(or even U.S.) waters by California or U.S. fishermen; the sharks are captured and finned by vessels all around the world, and their fins are processed elsewhere before import to California.

訛傳：AB376會重創景氣，損害工作機會。

事實：對那些供應魚翅羹的餐廳而言，魚翅羹只是菜單上一道少有人點的菜色；菜單上還有許多美味可口的佳餚可供選擇。即使魚翅羹會出現在宴會或是婚宴上，它也只是九或十道菜裡面的一道而已。顧客和餐廳從雜貨店、貿易公司和海鮮供應商購買魚翅，而這些業者還有許多產品可供選擇，魚翅並非是業者主要收入來源。

還有，那些在加州市場和商店裡販售的魚翅並非來自加州（也非來自美國）海域所捕獲的鯊魚；全球各地漁船到處去獵捕鯊魚割鰭，在別處處理完這些魚翅之後才進口到加州。

Claim: AB 376 fuels anti-immigrant or anti-minority sentiment.

Truth: While Chinese-Americans consume more shark fin than other groups, asking them to stop is not discriminatory or defamatory to that, or any other group of minorities.

In fact, it gives people the opportunity to do the right thing. This is a chance for Chinese-Americans to shine - to evolve beyond an outdated practice. Just as footbinding and indentured servitude are no longer tolerated, shark fin soup should be similarly eschewed. What may, however, inflame potential anti-minority sentiment, is a stubborn insistence on selfish adherence to a practice that is literally destroying the health of the ocean. Continuing on a course of opposition to AB 376 simply makes the bill's opponents appear self-centered and opportunistic.

One of the best ways to begin protecting sharks is to stop shark finning, and the best possible solution to curb shark finning at this point is to stem the demand through legislative bans.

Perhaps the best analogy for the shark fin trade is the ivory trade. Our experience with ivory demonstrates that it's impossible to end illegal shark-finning without banning shark fin. After 20 years of trying to "strictly-regulate" the ivory trade, African elephant populations declined by 50%. It was only after ivory was banned did the populations of elephants stabilized.

訛傳：AB376法案將煽動反移民和反少數族群情結。

事實：華裔美人的確比其他族群更常食用魚翅羹，但是籲請他們－或是其他食用魚翅羹的民族－停止食用這道菜與種族歧視無關。事實上，請他們停止食用魚翅羹，是給大家一個機會「有所為」。這是華裔美人發光發熱的好時機，得以成長進步，向這個過時的傳統道別。裹小腳和簽賣身契的奴役制度不再見容於社會，魚翅羹也應該被逐步淘汰。固執且自私地持守一個正在摧毀我們海洋生態的傳統－獵鯊割鰭－才會煽動反少數民族情節。持續反對AB376，讓反對者顯得自私短視又投機取巧。

保護鯊魚的最好方式之一，就是停止獵鯊割鰭，而目前停止獵鯊割鰭的最佳解決方式，就是透過立法禁止魚翅。

禁止象牙交易，應該是支持禁止魚翅交易的最佳範例。我們過往處理象牙走私的經驗，證實了一點：若不禁止魚翅，就不可能禁止非法獵鯊取鰭的血腥作為。象牙交易經過二十年的「嚴格管制」後，非洲的大象數量反而少了一半。只有在禁止象牙交易之後，大象數量才得以穩定下來。

Claim: We could farm sharks instead.

Truth: Due to their reproductive biology, which includes late onset of maturity, few young and long gestation periods, sharks cannot be farmed and do not stand up to a focused fishery. Some sharks take up to 25 years to reach sexual maturity, have a long gestation period (upwards of a year), and only have a few offspring in the end. Animals at the top of the food chain, such as sharks, have few natural predators, and as a result, they are extremely sensitive to fishing pressures, and are slow to recover from overfishing. Many shark species have declined in population by more than 90% in the last 50 years. Some species may have declined by as much as 97-99% in the last 35 years.

訛傳：我們可以養殖鯊魚。

事實：鯊魚的生殖規律如下－牠們成熟得晚，所繁殖的幼鯊數目十分有限，懷孕期非常長。由於這些原因，人類無法養殖鯊魚，鯊魚也無法在任何養殖場存活。有些鯊魚要二十五年才能達性徵成熟，懷孕期很長（長達一年），所產的幼鯊少之又少。類似鯊魚的這種食物鏈上頂級的掠食者，少有天敵，因此漁業活動會對牠們的數量造成極大的傷害，牠們的數量也很難從過度捕撈中復原。在過去五十年來，許多鯊魚物種的數量已經驟減了百分之九十以上。有些鯊魚魚種在過去三十五年減少了百分之九十七到九十九。

* The NOAA "2010 Shark Finning Report to Congress", in pages 21-23, dramatically demonstrates the great demand for fins. NOAA reports that in 1999 the majority of shark weight landed in Hawaii were finned sharks (2870 metric tons). In 2000, a half-year finning ban reduced the amount of shark weight landed in Hawaii to about half (1450 mt). A full-year ban in years 2001 and beyond (150, 180, etc. mt) reduced the shark landings to about 1 / 20th of the 1999 rate. The striking feature is that the numbers are by weight, so the number of sharks fished decreased by much more. It is commonly assumed that the fins weigh no more than five percent of the total shark weight (page 2), so the number of sharks fished reduced to as little as 1 / 400th of the 1999 values with the enactment of the shark finning ban.

Reasons to ban shark fin 禁止魚翅的原因

Endangered
1/3 of the species of open-ocean sharks are at risk of extinction just from the last 20-30 years of eating shark fin soup, a practice which kills 26-73 million sharks a year. At this rate, these sharks, which have been around for hundreds of millions of years, could become extinct in our lifetime.

These are the bigger sharks, the top predators of the ocean ecosystem, and thus considered by scientists to be 'keystone' species, meaning that removing them causes the whole structure to collapse. For this reason, the prospect of a food chain minus its apex predators may mean the end of the line for many more species, and the collapse of important fish and shellfish fisheries.

鯊魚瀕臨絕種
過去二三十年來由於魚翅羹的市場需求，導致遠洋中的鯊魚魚種有三分之一面臨絕種威脅。魚翅羹每年要犧牲兩千六百至七千三百萬隻鯊魚。照這種速率，這些生活在地球上四億多年的古老美麗生物，絕對會在我們這一代中永遠消失。

我們現在在討論的是大型鯊魚，科學家將牠們視為所謂的「基礎」物種，這意味著：沒有鯊魚，整個海洋生態系統即會崩解。一個失去了頂級掠食者的食物鏈，會產生可怕的連鎖效應：更多的物種會瀕危，而漁業和貝類養殖業也會整個垮掉。

Wasteful
Only the fins are eaten while the rest of the shark is discarded, for the vast majority of the 73 million sharks (analogous to ivory).

浪費
就每年所犧牲的七千三百萬隻鯊魚而言（我們再來想想上述的象牙比喻）整隻鯊魚除了魚鰭有人食用之外，其餘的魚身被丟回海裡。這種浪費多麼令人髮指。

Cruel
Due to shark-finning being done illegally in many countries (because they fetch huge profits), numerous sharks have their fins cut off while alive, thrown back into the ocean where they take many days to die.

殘忍
由於許多國家是非法獵鯊取鰭（獵鯊的獲利可觀），無數的鯊魚被活活地砍下魚鰭，而活魚身就被丟回海裡，這些沒有魚鰭的鯊魚要經歷多日的痛苦折磨才會死亡。

Not beneficial nutritionally
Sharks, being top predators, have a high level of mercury which is a neurotoxin, which can lead to problems with the brain, central nervous system, kidney, liver, and infertility/sterility in men.

魚翅毫無營養可言
鯊魚是頂級的掠食者，身上含有大量的汞。汞是一種神經毒素，會對人腦、中樞神經、腎臟、肝造成極大傷害，對男性則會造成不孕風險。

Alternative suggestions to banning shark fin, such as eating only sharks which are used whole, caught sustainably, are not enforceable. Similar to the ivory trade, the demand has to be cut, at least for now until the rate of depletion of sharks is slowed down.

其他替代魚翅禁令的建議，像是食用整隻鯊魚、透過永續方法所捕獲的鯊魚，都無從實施起。這跟象牙交易一樣，我們現在需要斷止市場對魚翅的需求，讓全球鯊魚數量有恢復的機會和希望。

Source: blog.coare.org/2011/05/to-ban-or-not-to-ban-that-is-question.html by Christopher Chin (translated by Shannon Hu)

California shark fin bill passes the CA Senate and is on Governor's desk

2011-09-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

We need to show the Governor that there is tremendous public support for AB 376. Please write, email and call (in order of effectiveness) Governor Jerry Brown and urge him to sign AB 376 into law.

Mailing address: Governor Jerry Brown, c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814
Email: http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php
Ph: (916) 445-2841

About the California shark fin bill (AB 376)

Frequently asked questions (To ban or not to ban)
What is shark finning? (AB 376 FINNING FINAL.pdf)
Four Facts about AB 376 (AB 376 Four Facts.pdf)
Rebuttal to claims made about AB 376 (Rebuttals to Oppo Claims from Cmte_FINAL_0823.pdf)

Here is a sample letter:

The Honorable Edmund “Jerry” Brown
Governor of California
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814

Date: September 17, 2011

RE: AB 376: Shark Protection Act — SUPPORT

Dear Governor Brown,

I would like to urge you to sign Assembly Bill 376, the Shark Protection Act.

As many as 73 million sharks are killed each year to supply fins for the international shark fin trade. The value of shark fin far exceeds other shark parts, providing an overwhelming economic driver to hunt as many sharks as possible for their fins. This has caused 1/3 of the species of open-ocean sharks to be at risk of extinction just within the last 20-30 years.

These are the bigger sharks, the top predators of the ocean ecosystem, and thus considered by scientists to be 'keystone' species, meaning that removing them causes the whole structure to collapse. For this reason, the prospect of a food chain minus its apex predators may mean the end of the line for many more species, and the collapse of important fish and shellfish fisheries.

The shark fin trade has many parallels to the ivory trade, and our experience with ivory shows that the only way to end illegal shark-finning is to end the demand for shark fin.

There is broad support for AB 376. Polling shows that 76% of California voters support AB 376, and 70% of California Chinese American voters support AB 376. Also, a 2011 survey in Hong Kong shows that attitudes are shifting in Asia as well. In China, there is increasing awareness of declining shark populations and a growing movement to stop the consumption of shark fin. In fact, Ding Liguo, deputy to the National People's Congress in China, has proposed that China's top legislature ban the trade of shark fin.

Approximately 85% of all U.S. dried shark fin imports come through California, and the U.S. accounts for 70% of all shark fin imports outside of Asia. By ending the trade in shark fin, California can help shut down the international shark fin trade, and motivate other countries to pass similar legislation.

Thank you for putting California in a lead position to protect sharks from extinction.

Sincerely,

Name:
Address:

09.06.2011:
California shark fin bill (AB 376) passes the CA Senate 25-9. View the session at: www.calchannel.com/channel/viewVideo/3009 (starts at 01:07:30). It was amended by a rider bill AB 853. AB 376 now heads to Governor Brown's desk. Thank you everyone for your support of AB 376!

AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Gaines, Harman, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Pavley, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Wolk, Wyland

NOES: Cannella, Hernandez, Huff, Lieu, Price, Rubio, Walters, Wright, Yee

NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, De León, Dutton, Fuller, Hancock, Padilla

Calif. lawmakers pass bill banning shark-fin trade Associated Press Sep 6, 2011

Support needed: California shark fin bill

2011-08-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Photos (T-B, L-R): Supporting AB 376 at SF Mayoral debate (photo by Rebecca Lee), protesting at store that sells shark fin in SF Chinatown, sharking at Embarcadero Center by Bay Bridge, sharking at Portsmouth Square in SF Chinatown

How you can help to pass the California shark fin bill AB 376

1. Call your state senator in support of AB 376. To find your senator and contact info, type in your zip code on this page http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html.

2. It's a quick and easy call: "I'm ___ and I'm a member of your district and would like to urge the Senator to support AB 376, the bill to ban shark fin in California." That's it! It takes only ONE MINUTE.

3. Get your friends and family to call their state senator.

Thank you!

Update 9/1/2011: AB 376 is up for 3rd reading but not voted upon yet (it's for a reason... the author can pick a favorable time for the bill to get voted on). CA Senate will reconvene Tues at noon. Please call again Tues morning, or leave a message before that.
Update 8/29/2011: AB 376 will be voted upon this week. Please call Tues or Wed!
More updates: www.facebook.com/ChineseforAB376

08.25.11:

AB 376 passed out of the CA Senate Appropriations Committee 5-2! Ayes: Kehoe, Alquist, Pavley, Price, Steinberg. Noes: Walters, Lieu. Abstained: Emmerson, Runner. No amendments were made.

Watch videos of AB 376 hearings, both live and past, at www.calchannel.com (videos of past hearings, e.g. 8/15, are here).

Now it goes to the full Senate within the next 2 weeks. Let's not let up until the vote passes the Senate. Keep up the pressure on your senators – call your senator today: www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

AB 376: status, legislative process of how it goes from a bill to law

Support needed: California shark fin bill

2011-06-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

High-res photo collages can be downloaded at Shark Fin Photo Mob

Hearing for California shark fin bill, AB 376, is set for 8/25 at the Senate Appropriations Committee. Please call your state senator (www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html) and urge YES vote on AB 376 (calling is much more effective). Then call the members of the Senate Appropriation Committee. In addition, if you have time, send an email to reenforce your call.

Christine Kehoe (Chair) (916) 651-4039 senator.kehoe@sen.ca.gov
Mimi Walters (Vice Chair) (916) 651-4033 senator.walters@sen.ca.gov
Elaine Alquist (916) 651-4013 senator.alquist@sen.ca.gov
Bill Emmerson (916) 651-4037 senator.emmerson@sen.ca.gov
Ted W. Lieu (916) 651-4028 senator.lieu@sen.ca.gov
Fran Pavley (916) 651-4023 senator.pavley@sen.ca.gov
Curren Price (916) 651-4026 senator.price@sen.ca.gov
Sharon Runner (916) 651-4017 senator.runner@sen.ca.gov
Darrell Steinberg (916) 651-4006 senator.steinberg@sen.ca.gov

It's a quick call e.g. "I'm ___, I'm Chinese American and a California resident, and I would like to urge Senator ___ to vote YES on AB 376 without amendments."

Thank you!

It is NOT discriminatory to ban shark fin and not other shark products or all shark fishing, because the demand for shark fin is by far the largest cause for the killing of sharks (NOAA "2010 Shark Finning Report to Congress", pages 21-23 *).

The only way to end illegal shark-finning is to ban shark fin:

1. We can't prevent the importation of fins from illegally-finned sharks due to international trade laws. This means that we can't prevent illegal fins from entering the country. It is very difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal fins. Thus the only way to stop illegal fins from entering the market is to ban all fins, both legal and illegal.

2. Illegal shark fins are very difficult and expensive to distinguish from legal ones. Using legal trade to cover illegal activity is a very common method. Say I'm a restaurant owner and I buy 'legal' shark fins, and at the same time I slip in illegal shark fins, to make shark fin soup for my customers. To get away with this, when the inspector comes, all I have to do is to show her/him my receipts for the 'legal' fins I had purchased, which I update daily to approximately match the weight of the illegal fins. I'm sure people can think of other ways...

People are ingenious at finding ways to get around rules to profit off of shark fins. As another example, after the sale of foie gras was banned in Chicago, restaurants gave away foie gras for free to customers who bought an expensive salad, to get around the "no-selling" rule.

3. There is no way to track the chain of custody of individual shark fins without exorbitant cost and without inviting laundering and fraud. The state has no money to cover the cost. A label/receipt/form is not a real option, because these types of documents do not accurately track chain of custody (especially for high-priced luxury items like shark fin or elephant ivory) and they are subject to massive fraud. Such schemes have been tried and failed disastrously to protect species.

If someone disagrees that it's impossible to end illegal shark-finning without banning shark fin, please provide a counter-example of a scheme that would work. Show how such a scheme would be enforced, and how it would deal with imported, illegally tagged fins.

* The NOAA "2010 Shark Finning Report to Congress", in pages 21-23, dramatically demonstrates the great demand for fins. NOAA reports that in 1999 the majority of sharks landed in Hawaii were finned sharks (2870 metric tons). In 2000, a half-year finning ban reduced the amount of shark weight landed in Hawaii to about half (1450 mt). A full-year ban in years 2001 and beyond (150, 180, etc. mt) reduced the shark weight landed to about 1 / 20th of the 1999 rate. The striking feature is that the numbers are by weight, so the number of sharks fished decreased by much more. It is commonly assumed that the fins weigh no more than five percent of the total shark weight (page 2), so the number of sharks fished reduced to as little as 1 / 400th of the 1999 values with the enactment of the shark finning ban.

> We all oppose shark fining, but who can provide ANY evidence to link the crime of shark fining and our current supply in California ?

Shark fins bought in San Francisco were brought to the California Academy of Sciences to have their DNA sequenced. Of the 19 samples that were successfully sequenced were 14 species including sharks that inhabit California waters. Over half are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and one was a species threatened with endangerment. The latter was the prepared noodle and completely unrecognizable. Others were from species that live in the Indian and Atlantic oceans as well as the Pacific Ocean. This is an international trade affecting sharks worldwide. DNA analysis is a time intensive, costly and laborious process and cannot be used on a large scale to screen sharks.

> Some blame Senator Ted Lieu for playing the race card, but who can explain why AB376 only ban shark fin, not ban the shark fishing and use other 95% of shark.

1. Illegal vs. legal shark fishing

The intention of the shark fin bill is to target illegal shark fishing. Shark-fins are so much more valuable than any other part of the shark that it causes the large-scale indiscriminate illegal killing of sharks even if endangered and certainly not within quota.

2. Shark fin is the most valuable part of the shark and contributes most to shark endangerment

The vast majority sharks are targeted for their fins and the rest of the shark is discarded. Shark products, e.g. shark meat, have very low demand [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/the-great-shark-slaughter/Content?oid=2519696]:

'"Fins are by far the most valuable part of the shark. Low prices or non-existent markets for shark meat discourage further retention." Indeed, shark meat exported from the United States goes for only $1 a pound — fifty times less than shark fin. ... In fact, Costco — contrary to Yee's claim — stopped carrying shark meat years ago because of lack of demand, according to the chain's US seafood buyer. ... Fins, by contrast, are highly valuable, and because they can be air-dried on the ship's rigging and stored compactly, they're essentially free money.'

3. Because of (2), ending the demand for shark fin will address the problem most efficiently.

Sharks are in trouble and banning all shark fishing may not be a bad idea. However, that's a much larger endeavor. As sharks are most often killed for their fins, ending that demand will save many more sharks than almost any other effort. This is something that can be done NOW.

As an analogy, consider recycling efforts. Does it make sense to hold back a entire recycling program until you have have perfected a wastestream management in place for every single item? No. Start where you can, and with an effort that you think will make a difference. In fact, whether it's with newspaper, glass, cans, or PET (1) containers, all municipalities involved in recycling start somewhere, and then later add on.

Excellent Q&A's on the shark fin bill:
To ban or not to ban
Four facts about AB 376

Sample letters: COARE, Sea Stewards

Support needed: California shark fin bill

2011-06-28T14:34:00.001-07:00

Photo: 1000 Hong Kong kids at Cyberport HK 9 July for the "I am the future, I won't eat shark fins" pledge event

California shark fin bill (AB376) passes CA Senate Natural Resource Committee 7-0. Thanks to Senators Pavley, Kehoe, LaMalfa, Evans, Simitian, Wolk, and Padilla. Senators Fuller and Canella abstained. The vote was contingent on the commitment of the author to work out amendments that satisfy Senator Lieu. The committee reserved the right to bring the bill back for a special hearing. (Via David McGuire)

Audio of hearing will be available in a few days at: http://sntr.senate.ca.gov/hearings

http://justice-equality.org (via "No on AB 376" facebook page):
"No on AB376 (shark's fin)
We applaud the great efforts of Senator Ted Lieu, Senator Leland Yee, Carl Chan, and Pius Lee in opposing to AB376 (shark’s fin) which is a discriminatory and illogical bill imposing on Chinese Americans while not really contributing to environmental protection. ..."

AB 376 will now go to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

Christine Kehoe (Chair) (916) 651-4039 senator.kehoe@senate.ca.gov
Mimi Walters (Vice Chair) (916) 651-4033 senator.walters@senate.ca.gov
Elaine Alquist (916) 651-4013 senator.alquist@senate.ca.gov
Bill Emmerson (916) 651-4037 senator.emmerson@senate.ca.gov
Ted W. Lieu (916) 651-4028 senator.lieu@senate.ca.gov
Fran Pavley (916) 651-4023 senator.pavley@senate.ca.gov
Curren Price (916) 651-4026 senator.price@senate.ca.gov
Sharon Runner (916) 651-4017 senator.runner@senate.ca.gov
Darrell Steinberg (916) 651-4006 senator.steinberg@senate.ca.gov

Support needed: California shark fin bill

2011-06-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

Photos: Shark Fin Photo Mob

The Senate Natural Resources committee heard testimony June 14, and will cast their votes at the next hearing, June 28. The Committee heard testimony from both sides for over an hour. Many committee members expressed support for the goals of AB 376. Others asked that during the next two weeks supporters and opposition submit additional information. Listen to the session: mp3 on the ChineseForAB376 facebook page

Contact the Senators below to vote YES on AB 376 on June 28.

Alex Padilla (D-Van Nuys): 916/651-4020, senator.padilla@senate.ca.gov
Doug LaMalfa (R-Rocklin): 916/651-4004, senator.lamalfa@senate.ca.gov
Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield): 916/651-4018, senator.fuller@senate.ca.gov
Anthony Cannella (R-Modesto): 916/651-4012, senator.cannella@senate.ca.gov
Lois Wolk (D-Vacaville): 916/651-4005, senator.wolk@senate.ca.gov

Additionally, please contact Senators Pavley, Evans, Kehoe, and Simitian and THANK them for their support for AB 376.

Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica, Chair): 916/651-4023, senator.pavley@senate.ca.gov
Noreen Evans (D-Napa): 916/651-4002, senator.evans@senate.ca.gov
Chrstine Kehoe (D-San Diego): 916/651-4039, senator.kehoe@senate.ca.gov
Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto): 916/651-4011, senator.simitian@senate.ca.gov

Here is a sample letter.

Photos: From Shark Fin Photo Mob. Current photos – contribute a photo to support AB 376.

Facts about AB 376

2011-06-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

1. The Shark Fin Trade Decimates Sharks

The shark fin trade is like the now-illegal trades in ivory, rhino horns, and bear paws, where the demand for a single high-value animal part drives the unsustainable slaughter and waste of the whole animal.

As many as 73 million sharks are killed each year to supply fins for the international shark fin trade.[1] The value of shark fin far exceeds other shark parts (20 to 250 times the value of meat by weight), providing an overwhelming economic driver to hunt as many sharks as possible for their fins.[2]

Nearly one third of shark species are threatened with extinction and multiple recent, peer-reviewed scientific reports show that populations of sharks worldwide are declining dramatically.[3]

2. California Contributes to the Problem

California imports and re-exports shark fins from all over the world, including Asia.[4] Approximately 85% of all U.S. dried shark fin imports come through California.[5] Los Angeles and San Francisco are recognized points of entry for the shark fin trade.[6]

The U.S. accounts for 70% of all shark fin imports outside of Asia.[7] The United States ranks 7th out of 85 countries that are origins of shark fin exports to Hong Kong.[8] By joining Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon in ending its contribution to the trade in shark fins, California can help shut down the international shark fin trade.

3. Only a Trade Ban Can End California’s Contribution & Help Save Sharks

Some AB 376 opponents suggest that California should allow the shark fin trade to continue by “just killing sharks in our own waters to meet the fin demand here.” The authors, sponsors, supporters, and ocean science and policy experts have thoroughly explored this approach and disagree. Here’s why:

The opposition’s scheme…

• Is illegal: Such a scheme likely violates the U.S. Constitution and international trade rules.[9] These legal barriers have led other U.S. states that also want to stop the unchecked slaughter of sharks for their fins to adopt the same trade ban as embodied in AB 376. (Opposition cannot demonstrate how its scheme could exist without violating federal and international law.)

• Does not address the problem: Domestic, trade-only schemes for high-value exotic and luxury animal items like shark fin (bear paw, elephant ivory, etc.) fail to protect species; the trade – which is the major problem – is still allowed to continue, the animal continues to be slaughtered for its high-value item, inhumane practices continue to be incentivized, and laundering and illegal imports are pervasive.[10] (Opposition cannot demonstrate that its scheme would end California’s contribution to the slaughter of sharks for their high-value fins.)

• Harms California’s shark populations: Domestic, trade-only schemes will increase domestic killing to compensate for banned out-of-state and imported product. Currently, sharks in California waters are fished at relatively low rates in just two limited fisheries (mako and thresher sharks).[11] Opposition’s scheme would immediately and strongly incentivize the slaughter of sharks in our waters for their fins – undermining our shark conservation efforts. (Opposition cannot demonstrate how its scheme could be structured to maintain the status quo for California shark fisheries.)

• Is unworkable and unenforceable: There is no way to track the chain of custody of individual shark fins without exorbitant cost and without inviting laundering and fraud. It is not possible to tag or barcode and provide DNA testing for each and every fin to ensure that it is accurately marked with necessary information from slaughter to soup. A simple receipt or form from a fin vendor is no real option. That’s because these type of documents do not accurately track chain of custody (especially for high-priced luxury items like shark fin or elephant ivory) and they are subject to massive fraud. Such schemes have been tried and failed disastrously to protect species. (Opposition cannot offer a chain of custody program that would work to accurately track shark fins. Opposition also cannot show how such a program would be enforced and how its scheme would deal with imported, illegally tagged fins, and illegal shark fin contamination in the domestic market.)

• Is cost prohibitive: AB 376 is enforced at no new cost to state or local enforcement bodies. AB 376 places no additional burdens on local governments, state entities, California fishermen, or our state’s Fish and Game wardens. (Opposition cannot show how it would pay for its proposal, which does not address the problem, and how its proposal would place no costs or burdens on the state, local governments, fishermen, or wardens even if it could work.)

AB 376 is very similar to other shark fin trade bans enacted or poised to be enacted in other U.S. states and countries around the world. The legislation is carefully crafted to end California’s role in the shark fin trade.

4. AB 376 is Not a Cultural Attack

Consuming shark fin is a practice for those who can afford it, but it is not a defining aspect of Chinese culture. In addition, practices do, in fact, change over time. Consider the now-banned practice of binding women’s feet, which was considered by some to be an important element of cultural beauty but which has been outlawed as a result of its cruelty. Moreover, other highly-prized and sustainable seafood products exist, such as farmed abalone, which can be substituted for shark fin to celebrate special occasions. Finally, and most importantly, polling shows that 70% of California Chinese American voters support AB 376. The poll also shows that 38% of California Chinese Americans have never eaten shark fin soup.[12] Also, a 2011 survey in Hong Kong shows that attitudes are shifting in Asia as well. In China, there is increasing awareness of declining shark populations and a growing movement to stop the consumption of shark fin.[13]

References
1 Clarke, et.al. Global estimates of shark catches using trade records from commercial markets. Ecology Letters, (2006) 9. 1115-1126.
2 Stefania Vannuccini, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). FAO FISHERIES TECHNICAL PAPER 389. Rome, 1999. http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/x3690e/x3690e1t.htm (Table 3)
3 Camhi, M.D., Valenti, S.V., Fordham, S.V., Fowler, S.L. and Gibson, C. 2009. The Conservation Status of Pelagic Sharks and Rays: Report of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group Pelagic Shark Red List Workshop. IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group. Newbury, UK. x + 78p. http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/ssg_pelagic_report_final.pdf; See also for examples: Chapple, et al. 2011 (Finding there are just 219 white sharks left off the coast of Central California.); Baum, Meyers, et al. 2003 (Finding all northwest Atlantic shark populations have declined by at least 50%.); Baum, Meyers, et al. 2004 (Finding whitetip and silky sharks in the Gulf of Mexico have declined by 99% and 90%, respectively.)
4 FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics and Information Service. 2010. Fisheries commodities production and trade 1976-2008. FISHSTAT Plus - Universal software for fishery statistical time series [online or CD-ROM]. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available at: http://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/software/fishstat/en
5 National Marine Fisheries Service: 2008-2010 Import Data: http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/trade/cumulative_data/TradeDataDistrict.html
6 2010 NOAA Report to Congress http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/domes_fish/ReportsToCongress/SharkFinningReport10.pdf
7 [Average value for 2000-2008] FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics and Information Service. 2010. Fisheries commodities production and trade 1976-2008. FISHSTAT Plus - Universal software for fishery statistical time series [online or CD-ROM]. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available at: http://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/software/fishstat/en
8 “The International Trade of Shark Fins.” Oceana. March 2010. http://na.oceana.org/sites/default/files/reports/OCEANA_international_trade_shark_fins_english.pdf (Table 1: “Origins of Shark Fin Exports to Hong Kong.” Source: 2008 Hong Kong Census Trade Statistics).
9 See Art. I, Sec. 8, U.S. Constitution, see also, e.g. United Haulers Ass’n v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Mgmt. Auth. 550 U.S. 330 (2007); see General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT), Article XX, World Trade Organization.
10 See for example failure of domestic ivory trade programs (Environmental News Service, June 4, 2007: “an investigative report into Japan's domestic ivory trade controls released last week by the International Fund for Animal Welfare details loopholes in the Japanese system that allow illegal ivory from elephants poached in the wild to be laundered in astronomical sums into the legal domestic ivory market.")
11 California Department of Fish and Game 2009 commercial catch data: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/fishing.asp#Commercial (indicating 62.24 mt of thresher shark and 20.15 metric tons of short fin mako landed in 2009; below Pacific Fisheries Management Council Highly Migratory Species FMPharvest guidelines of 340 mt for common thresher and 150 mt for mako)
12 Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, 2011 Survey Results on Proposed Shark Finning Legislation
13 “Attitudes Shifting on Shark Fin Soup.” Bettina Wassener. April 24, 2011. The New York Times.; “Survey on Shark Consumption Habits and Attitudes in Hong Kong.” Bloom &University of Hong Kong Social Sciences Resarch Center. Results Press Conference, April 12 2011. http://bloomassociation.org/bloom/media/SurveysharkconsumptionhabitsinHong%20Kong.pdf

Support needed: California shark fin bill

2011-05-23T14:11:00.001-07:00

AB 376 passed out of the California Assembly floor 65-8. Assemblymembers Fiona Ma, Mike Eng, Jim Nielsen were among the ones who spoke eloquently in opposition. Listen to their speeches (mp3 also on this facebook page).

VOTING "NO": Fiona Ma (San Francisco), Tim Donnelly, Mike Eng, Felipe Fuentes, Curt Hagman, Diane Harkey, Allan Mansoor, Jim Nielsen.

ABSTAINING: Charles Calderon, Connie Conway, Paul Cook, Jeff Gorell (absent?), Shannon Grove, Isadore Hall, Kristin Olsen.

California shark fin bill AB 376 will now go to the Senate side. It will first go to the Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee, chaired by Senator Fran Pavley. Members are Doug LaMalfa, Noreen Evans, Christine Kehoe, Alex Padilla, Joe Simitian, Lois Wolk, Anthony Cannella and Jean Fuller.

Email pattern for all: senator.pavley@senate.ca.gov

Here is a sample letter.

News:
Assembly approves shark fin ban San Francisco Chronicle 2011-5-23
Assembly votes to prohibit sale of shark fins Associated Press 2011-5-23
鱼翅之争_美国频道新浪网 2011-5-23
For the latest news, google-news/google 'shark fin' and '鱼翅'.

Facebook page of Chinese for AB 376
Facebook page of opponents of AB 376 – be careful and don't 'Like' unless you mean to

Support needed: California shark fin bill

2011-04-06T11:08:00.001-07:00

What's New:
California shark fin bill AB 376 will now go to the full Assembly floor (80 members) for voting. Now is the time to contact your assemblymember and urge her/him to support AB 376 (more information below).

AB 376: bill analysis for Assembly floor, legislative process

致余胤良州議員：請不要把種族問題扯進來！To Senator Yee: The proposed ban on shark fin soup has nothing to do with race 魚翅婚宴人情七折
李銳華啟文雜思: 魚翅、中華文化、與立法規管
女高中生校门口挺牌呼吁拯救鲨鱼

My wedding saves sharks

Video: Diver in Hong Kong is not at all happy she can't see any sharks as they've all been finned. (If there are no more sharks in the ocean, I'd be traumatized too.)

世界新聞網-北美華文新聞、華商資訊 - 加州提案禁止出售和擁有魚翅，你的看法為
[There is a proposed ban on the sale and possession of shark fin in CA. What is your opinion on this?
A. Shark fin (trade) hurts our environment. It should be banned.
B. This is an attack on a culture. It is an equivalent of the "Chinese Exclusion Act" in the catering industry.
C. I don't eat shark fin soup, and I have no opinion on this.]

News about shark fin ban (use google translate):
AB 376 Vote Soon; Voters Please Contact these Assemblymembers Sea Stewards
Herrera Jumps on Shark Fin Bandwagon The Bay Citizen 2011-5-23
魚翅禁令建議延後1年生效世界新聞網 2011-5-21
New shark fin ban bill allows more time to comply Associated Press 2011-5-20
香港政府公开公务吃喝账不点鱼翅剩菜需打包新浪网 2011-5-20
Shark fin soup lovers could get one-year reprieve San Francisco Chronicle (Politics blog) 2011-5-19
反禁鱼翅案者酝酿行动称绝不牺牲华裔饮食文化美国侨报 2011-5-19
鱼翅其实没那么营养 80%左右成分是蛋白质新华网云南频道 2011-5-18
Focus Taiwan News Channel 2011-5-19
6月16起宣導一系列拒吃活動／喜宴不吃魚翅中原學生搶救鯊魚自由時報 2011-5-19
YouTube: Say NO to shark fin Freezemob 2 Hong Kong 2011-5-18
网民拯救鲨鱼抵制吃鱼翅倡议“七折人情” 中国新闻网 2011-5-18
大学生携手保护动物拒吃鱼翅中央社实时新闻 2011-5-18
禁鱼翅保护鲨鱼安省小城开先例！有华人就有鱼加拿大家园网 2011-5-17
From Costa Rica to Nicaragua: Foreign fleet now lands shark fins in Nicaragua PRETOMA 2011-5-17
再论禁止鱼翅案：提案系伪命题侨报网 2011-5-17
一项调查显示：鱼翅被水银污染的程度高达70% ningceiqateke388的日志 2011-05-17
Lali King - Shark Fin OMNI BC Cantonese 2011-5-16
爭取開加國先河安省一市擬立例禁銷禁食魚翅加拿大星島日報 2011-5-14
Big Deal. I Just Said It. I Didn’t Say It Was True. New York Times 2011-5-14. It's true that it would be difficult to enforce the hard-to-sell shark meat not being discarded and used as fertilizer.
Sabah hotels stop selling shark fin soup Malaysia Star 2011-5-14
Save-shark campaign cooks on persuasion Times Colonist 2011-5-14
Shark Fin and "Waste Not" – True Chinese "Tradition" Matthew Felix Sun 2011-5-13
Hotel says no to shark’s fin mySarawak 2011-5-13
加州鱼翅之争中外对话 2011-5-12
Shark fight in California China Dialogue 2011-5-12 (video)
Historic Washington Legislation Protects Sharks PR.com (press release) 2011-5-12
Brantford pushes for Canada's first shark fin ban Toronto Star 2011-5-12
To ban or not to ban, that is the question... COARE 2011-5-11
Basketball star Yao speaks out against shark finning MKALWNews 2011-5-11
The Brouhaha Over Shark Fins AsianWeek 2011-5-10
California Considers Shark Fin Soup Ban AssociatedPress 2011-5-10
反對禁魚翅法案聯盟動起來世界日報 2011-5-9
禁不禁? 華裔官員半對半 — 支持世界黃頁網 2011-5-9
多吃鱼翅可致男性不育新闻中心 2011-5-9
Will the San Jose Sharks Help Save Real Sharks? Change.org (blog) 2011-5-9
73 Million Sharks Need Your Help Huffington Green 2011-5-9
Food operators rebuff Sabah’s proposed shark hunting ban Malaysia Star 2011-5-9
Malaysian state plans to ban shark hunting to boost tourism, conserve species Associated Press 2011-5-8
Flashmob Say No to Shark Fin Soup Event: Sun 2011-5-15, Citic Tower, Outside on the sidewalk, 1 Tin Mei Avenue, Admiralty, Hong Kong
美国加州禁鱼翅法案争论激烈华人热议大紀元 2011-5-7
余胤良堅決反對要找方文忠談新浪網 2011-5-7 (Leland Yee 余胤良 Yú Yìnliáng)
Yee tries to clarify shark-fin position San Francisco Chronicle (blog) 2011-5-7
香港藝人郭秀雲在港推動不吃魚翅世界新聞網 2011-5-7
蒙特瑞水族館：7成民眾支持禁魚翅世界新聞網 2011-5-6
KTSF news clip about press conference KTSF 2011-5-6
SF: Poll Shows Support For Banning Shark Fin KTUV 2011-5-6
Proposed shark fin ban makes waves in San Fran. Associated Press 2011-5-6
Poll: California's Chinese Americans Overwhelmingly Support Ban On Shark Fin Trade Monterey Bay Aqarium 2011-5-6
姚明：保護鯊魚不喝魚翅湯中央社 2011-5-6
環保組織禁魚翅請到姚明助陣世界日報 2011-5-6
沙州將禁獵售鯊魚魚翅星洲互動 2011-5-6
邱信福、丁右立支持禁魚翅世界日報 2011-5-4 (David Chiu 邱信福 Qiū Xìnfú; Ed Lee 李孟賢 Lǐ Mèngxián)
飲食新起點﹕環保「魚翅」明報專訊 2011-5-4
從善如流兩岸美食交流魚翅不上桌環境資訊中心 2011-5-4
龍景軒世界日報 2011-5-3. Lung King Heen (龍景軒) is the only Cantonese restaurant in Hong Kong that has been awarded the maximum three Michelin stars by the 2008 Hong Kong and Macau edition of the Michelin Guide.
The San Francisco Mayoral Race and the Shark Fin Soup Divide Change.org (blog) 2011-5-2
Priced Off the Menu? Palau’s Sharks Are Worth $1.9 Million Each, a Study Says New York Times 2011-5-2
致全球华人的地球日公开信：拯救黑熊和鲨鱼凤凰网 2011-5-1
Chinese politicians must navigate shark fin issue San Francisco Chronicle 2011-5-1
支持AB376者：不認為有歧視星島日報 2011-4-30
伍國慶指禁魚翅法案有漏洞新浪網 2011-4-30 (Mike Eng 伍國慶 Wǔ Guóqìng)
Also see: 馬世雲反對禁魚翅法案世界新聞網 2011-3-7 (Fiona Ma 馬世雲 Mǎ Shìyún). Please contact Asm. Fiona Ma and urge her to vote YES on AB 376 (916/319-2012, fiona.ma@asm.ca.gov).
操往方文忠辦公室找不著人反對禁魚翅民眾示威撲空星島日報 2011-4-30
Oregon House passes bill banning shark fin soup Seattle Times 2011-4-29
關麗珍：禁魚翅並非歧視華裔世界新聞網 2011-4-29 (Oakland mayor Jean Quan 關麗珍 Guān Lìzhēn)
Taiwan drops shark's fin soup from Beijing banquet Monsters and Critics 2011-4-29
Community members to hold rally against shark fin bill KTSF Channel 26 News 2011-4-29
觀光局：北京台菜宴不用魚翅中央社 2011-4-28
反對禁魚翅周五大示威新浪網 2011-4-28
全球华人向鱼翅说“不” 保护鲨鱼需要立法中新网 2011-4-27
李孟賢直認吃魚翅昂然反對施禁新浪網 2011-4-27 (Ed Lee 李孟賢 Lǐ Mèngxián)
Mayor Lee Resists Stopping Shark Torture NBC Bay Area 2011-4-27
Mayor Ed Lee opposed to shark fin soup ban San Francisco Chronicle 2011-4-26
伍國慶反對禁魚翅世界日報 2011-4-25 (Mike Eng 伍國慶 Wǔ Guóqìng, Fiona Ma 馬世雲 Mǎ Shìyún). Please contact Asm. Fiona Ma and Asm. Mike Eng and urge them to vote YES on AB 376.
方文忠：禁魚翅絕非歧視華人世界新聞網 2011-4-25
七代志新浪环保等机构倡议航空公司勿登鱼翅广告新浪网 2011-4-25
Attitudes Shifting on Shark Fin Soup New York Times 2011-4-25 (survey)
美各州重環保禁魚翅成風潮中央社 2011-4-22
Oregon considers banning shark fin soup The Seattle Times 2011-4-22. "The House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee this week unanimously endorsed House Bill 2838 and sent it to the floor with a recommendation for passage."
全球華人聯合發起地球日活動籲拒吃魚翅和熊膽大陸頻道新浪網 2011-4-21
業者：禁魚翅就是歧視華人世界日報 2011-4-21
Shark Champion Awards recognise efforts of Chinese campaigners 2011-4-18. Many thanks to Mr Ding Li Guo 丁立國, Mr Wan Jie 萬捷, and Mr Zhang Xing Sheng 張醒生!
王石：全球變局下更要倡導綠色公司中國經濟網 www.ce.cn 2011-4-18
Anti-Shark Finning Exhibition Opens in Support of AB 376: "No Fins, No Future" PR Newswire 2011-4-18
Support Bans on the Shark Fin Trade Huffington Post 2011-4-15
Letter to the editor: Say no to shark fin soup Malaysia Star 2011-4-15
78%港人撐婚宴没魚翅香港商報訊八成人接受婚宴沒魚翅明報 2011-4-13 (article also published in 中央日報 Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau, Thailand, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Netherlands, Poland)
Shark fin no longer dish of the day at Hong Kong wedding banquets Deutsche Presse-Agentur 2011-4-13. Here is the survey.
州众议院未对法案进行讨论及表决三百市民州府反对禁鱼翅全球新闻 2011-4-13
周一組團用大巴士上州府抗議華埠社區發動魚翅捍衛戰香港新浪網 2011-4-9
舊金山僑社稱禁魚翅案不足挂齒民生大計更需關注新華網 2011-4-9
稍後提交加州眾議院表決禁魚翅法案州眾院委會通過香港新浪網 2011-4-8
禁魚翅案眾議會撥款委員會通過世界日報 2011-4-7
稍后提交加州众议院表决禁鱼翅法案州众院委会通过加拿大都市网 2011-4-7
两天5000人签名抗议歧视性立法加拿大都市网 2011-4-7
Shark cyber conservation in China The Nature Conservancy 2011-4-6
加州禁鱼翅提案获阶段进展中餐业者称应全球推广中国新闻网 2011-4-6
Alhambra Chinese restaurants fight shark fin ban Alhambra Source 2011-4-4
洛杉矶华人支持禁止销售鱼翅提案做环保先锋新华网 2011-4-4
反禁魚翅華人團體施壓州議員世界日報 2011-4-2

保护鲨鱼，拒吃鱼翅 No Shark-Fin Buying, No Shark Killing 中国企业家俱乐部 China Entrepreneur Club, 阿拉善SEE生态协 Alxa SEE Ecological Association, 中城联盟 Midtown Alliance , 野生救援 WildAid, 新浪网 Sina

04.06.2011
California shark fin bill AB 376 passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee with 10 votes (17-member committee). Here is the bill analysis.
AYES: Blumenfield, Bradford, Charles Calderon, Campos, Davis, Gatto, Hill, Lara, Mitchell, Solorio
NOES: Nielsen
ABSENT, ABSTAINING, OR NOT VOTING: Fuentes, Harkey, Donnelly, Hall, Norby, Wagner

Background: A bill has been introduced (by assemblymembers Paul Fong and Jared Huffman) to ban the shark fin trade and shark finning in California, a process where the fins and tails are cut from sharks, then the sharks, often still alive, are thrown back into the ocean.

Please support this bill by sending an email to your assemblymember and senator. Your emails will impact whether this bill will pass. Passing the bill in California (it passed in Hawaii, and the Washington Senate 47-0 House 95-1) will create a ripple effect to ban shark fin in other states and in other countries.

It's an assembly bill (AB 376), and we don't get to vote on it individually, instead our assemblymember and senator will vote on it on our behalf. Email your assemblymember and senator (and the Assembly Committee) to let them know your position on the shark fin ban.

A sample email and the email addresses are on this page sharksavers.org. If you live in California or San Francisco where the bill's opponent (California senator Leland Yee) is running for mayor, do include your location.

San Francisco's assemblymember is Fiona Ma (fiona.ma@asm.ca.gov). She's neutral on the shark fin ban. San Francisco's senator is Leland Yee (opposes ban).

Image: With no natural predators, lionfish populations have exploded throughout the waters of the Caribbean and U.S. Southeast since their accidental introduction by aquarium hobbyists a decade ago. A mature female lionfish produces some two million eggs every year, and those eggs and larvae are carried far and wide by currents—fuelling an ongoing invasion. Divers are trying to train sharks to eat them.

Reasons to ban shark fin

Endangered
1/3 of the species of open-ocean sharks are at risk of extinction just from the last 20-30 years of eating shark fin soup, a practice which kills 26-73 million sharks a year. At this rate, these sharks, which have been around for hundreds of millions of years, could become extinct in our lifetime.

These are the bigger sharks, the top predators of the ocean ecosystem, and thus considered by scientists to be 'keystone' species, meaning that removing them causes the whole structure to collapse. For this reason, the prospect of a food chain minus its apex predators may mean the end of the line for many more species, and the collapse of important fish and shellfish fisheries.

Wasteful
Only the fins are eaten while the rest of the shark is discarded, for the vast majority of the 73 million sharks (analogous to ivory).

Cruel
Due to shark-finning being done illegally in many countries (because they fetch huge profits), numerous sharks have their fins cut off while alive, thrown back into the ocean where they take many days to die.

Not beneficial nutritionally
Sharks, being top predators, have a high level of mercury which is a neurotoxin, which can lead to problems with the brain, central nervous system, kidney, liver, and sterility in men.

Alternative suggestions to banning shark fin, such as eating only sharks which are used whole, caught sustainably, are not enforceable. Similar to the ivory trade, the demand has to be cut, at least for now until the rate of depletion of sharks is slowed down.

Shark fin is not a cultural delicacy that has been singled out to be banned – both production and sale of foie gras (force-feeding) has already been banned in California.

Thank you for helping to prevent sharks from becoming endangered/extinct.

News articles:
www.kqed.org/quest/blog/2011/02/23/shark-fin-trade-puts-sharks-at-risk/
www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/the-great-shark-slaughter/...
www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201102160900 Excellent discussion with Adam Keigwin (representing Senator Yee), John McCosker (California Academy of Sciences), Paul Fong (Assemblymember), and Peter Knights (WildAid), hosted by Michael Krasny.
"End of the Line: Global Threats to Sharks": pdf at WildAid and Oceana. Pew report: "Sharks: The State of the Science"

02.23.2011
Here's Senator Yee's response, and a sample follow-up email

“I wanted to write to you personally to make sure you understood my full position on the recent proposal to ban shark fin soup in California.

I am extremely concerned about the plight of sharks and the ecological impact to the oceans caused by the depletion of certain species. I am a strong supporter of the 2000 federal law, recently strengthened by President Obama, against shark “finning.” It’s a horrendous and cruel practice.

The seriousness with which I take environmental issues is evidenced by the 100% rating I recently received from Clean Water Action, the California League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club – one of only two Senators in California to receive this distinction.

That’s why, while I oppose a complete ban on shark fin soup, I strongly support efforts to protect endangered sharks and stop the practice of shark finning.

I believe we can both protect sharks and preserve the 1,800-year cultural heritage of shark fin soup through the following actions:

* A complete ban on any importation of shark fin to California that does not comply with the federal law against shark “finning” and a ban on the use of shark fins from endangered species of sharks;

* Adoption by California of the federal prohibition against shark “finning;”

* Imposition of strict penalties for breaking these laws;

* Use of such resources collected through penalties for regulation and education about sharks and ocean ecology.

While I do feel that we should find a way to protect a cultural staple, I made a mistake by indiscriminately labeling those who support the ban as “culturally insensitive.” That is neither accurate nor constructive, and I deeply regret offending those who were hurt by my comments.

Those who have labeled my position as one of disregard for the environment and the plight of sharks are making a similar mistake.

My commitment is to seek common ground and pass meaningful legislation that protects endangered species and our oceans.”

Dear Senator Yee,

I'm a Chinese immigrant in San Francisco and I hope you will represent me to support AB 376 to ban shark fin in California.

Thank you for your response sent today on your behalf by Dan Lieberman. Unfortunately, the proposals primarily amount to adopting laws in California that are redundant with existing federal laws. In a perfect world, the federal ban would already be sufficient.

It is important that the ban on shark finning be enforceable, and effective in preventing shark populations from further declining. This has parallels to the ivory trade and our experience with ivory demonstrates that the only way we can enforce it is to cut the demand.

If we Chinese all over the world keep consuming shark fin soup, sharks, which have been around for hundreds of millions of years, will be decimated in our lifetime, with adverse effects on our environment, such as collapsing our scallop fisheries, threatening crab (and abalone!) populations, and disrupting our ocean ecosystem.

If I had thought that Chinese had been treated unfairly in this bill, I would have spoken out vocally about it. I don't think that is the case here. We have to see the bigger picture.

There is no reason to eat any dish, of any culture, that leads to the endangerment of a species. Because we Chinese have caused the depletion of sharks in the ocean, we have an added responsibility to support this ban.

I respectfully request that you reconsider your position in light of the strong interest in this issue demonstrated by your constituents.

Warm regards,
Yvonne Chu
San Francisco, CA

seastewards.org/san-francisco-shark-fin-consumption-contributes-to-the-decrease-of-world-sharks:

"With the Hamilton Lab at the California Academy Sciences Sea Stewards sequenced the DNA of shark fins bought in San Francisco.

Of 19 samples that were successfully sequenced discovered 14 species including sharks that inhabit California waters. Over half are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and one was a species threatened with endangerment.

The latter was the prepared noodle and completely unrecognizable. Others were from species that live in the Indian and Atlantic oceans as well as the Pacific Ocean. This is an international trade affecting sharks worldwide. As Dr. McCosker said, sharks cannot be farmed due to their biology. There is no sustainable source of shark fins from any fishery to support the demand.

To screen sharks at the ports is unviable. DNA analysis is a time intensive, costly and laborious process and cannot be (as one caller suggested) used on a large scale to screen sharks.

This is about sustainability. There are sustainable alternatives to shark fin soup. [crab seafood soup]

We are joined by Asian Americans and Asian American groups like the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance in supporting sharks and banning the sale of shark fins."

Also see:
www.scienceblogs.com/... illegal shark fishing in Galapagos
www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201102160900 excellent KQED discussion about enforceability issue
www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/the-great-shark-slaughter/...
bushwarriors.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/... half ton of illegal hammerhead shark fins seized en route to NY
www.kqed.org/quest/blog/2011/02/23/shark-fin-trade-puts-sharks-at-risk
monkeyfacenews.typepad.com/my-blog/2011/02/shark-fin-soup.html
www.sfgate.com/... fewer great white sharks than scientists expected
www.manandshark.com a video by Paul Hilton and Alex Hofford which explores shark-finning in developing nations

Campaigns against eating shark fin soup are being waged in countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and China. 禁售魚翅，並不是對中華文化的攻擊。其實，如下所列，很多華人都是反對食用魚翅的。

02.26.2011
Jennifer Lee, founder of Project: FIN in Singapore sent this letter to Senator Yee and Assemblymember Paul Fong:

Dear Senator Yee,

As a Chinese advocate for marine conservation, I disagree with your statement that the Californian shark fin ban opposes our Chinese tradition. Shark fin started off an emperor's dish, inaccessible to commoners. The dish was only popularized in the last 30+ years, and we have already caused drastic declines in shark populations around the world.

Calling the dish a part of our Chinese culture provides convenience for the tongue, but this statement is accurate only if you believe we are of royal blood.

Other traditions such as feet binding and arranged marriages that have fallen with time because these no longer have a place on this day. While we take pride in our Chinese tradition, we need to bear in mind that the importance of cultural practices should not supersede the importance of maintaining sustainability.

As a fellow Chinese, may I urge you to lead with greater responsibilities towards our environment.

Jennifer Lee
Founder, Project: FIN (Singapore)
On behalf of 990 members.

03.09.2011
Ding Liguo, deputy to the National People's Congress in China, proposed that China's top legislature should ban the trade of shark fin. Ding said, "Only legislation can stop shark fin trading and reduce the killings of sharks" [2011-3-9, Xinhua, Agence France-Presse]

Some links related to AB 376 in Asia –
http://sharksavers.org/en/blog... (Jaki Teo in Singapore writes about AB 376)
(translated) http://www.china-daily.org/Chi...
(in Chinese) http://www.singtaousa.com/0303... (open letter published in sina.com in China, and singtaousa.com)
Other parts of Asia: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Nepal
Others: Canada, UK/Independent, UK/Telegraph, Australia, France, Netherlands, VOANews, NYTimes
Claudia Li's support letter for AB 376 (pdf)

About me (yvonne): I'm a Chinese immigrant who grew up in Singapore and Hong Kong. My parents, who are still in Hong Kong, run a business, which means I grew up eating a lot of shark fin soup. Both my parents went to university in China, where they met.

Photo: Six-graders met with Assemblymember Don Wagner (pictured) and other local elected representatives to encourage them to support AB 376. They also wrote instructional curriculum about shark ecology, created a website ilovesharks, and are selling T-shirts to raise money for shark preservation. They hope to travel to Sacramento next to encourage state legislators to pass AB 376.

California shark fin bill AB 376 is progressing
03.02.2011
From sharksavers.org:
"Senator Leland Yee ... is still leading the opposition and has suggested ways to change the bill that would significantly weaken it. ... You can help by writing ... to show your support for the bill. Everyone can write, but it is especially important for the legislators to receive calls, emails, or letters from: Asians residing anywhere in the world, residents of the three districts that these legislators represent, and other Californians [my emphasis]."

03.17.2011
Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-SF) has signed on as co-author. Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski is undecided. Support letters are needed especially to the Republican members.

03.18.2011
[mountainview.patch.com]: Senator Yee's position is unchanged.

03.22.2011
AB 376 passed out of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee
13-0. Thank you everyone! You can listen to the hearing (mp3 also on this facebook page). Among the people who spoke in support of AB 376 are Assemblymember Paul Fong (AB 376's principal co-author), APAOHA Co-Chair Judy Ki, Monterey Bay Aquarium Vice President Michael Sutton, and WildAid Executive Director Peter Knights. Organizations in support of AB 376 are listed in the bill analysis. Thank you to all members of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, especially Assemblymember Paul Fong.

Next the bill will go to the Assembly Appropriations Committee (four of whom have already voted for the bill in AWPW: Blumenfield, Campos, Gatto & Lara). The hearing is scheduled for Apr 6. If it passes, it will go to the Assembly floor (80 members). If successful there, it will then go to the Senate side.

Letters of support are needed to the chair Felipe Fuentes (assemblymember.fuentes@assembly.ca.gov) and members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, and to your assemblymember and senator.

Student in China advocates against shark-fin

2011-03-30T00:15:00.001-07:00

Photo: Almost 18500 forwards on Weibo (China's Twitter) about student in Guangzhou promoting the anti-shark fin cause outside her school. The student is Deng Xi Yuan 邓茜元 from Guangzhou No. 7 Middle School 广州市第七中学. She has created her own Weibo to spread the shark protection message. (Via Jaki Teo, 03.29.2011)

女高中生校门口挺牌呼吁拯救鲨鱼
"举牌哥""鲨鱼妹"个性表达少年公民难能可贵

Related:
南京市赤壁路小学五班贾羽菲：
不知你吃过鱼翅没有，当你吃得津津有味的时候，你有没有想过，有多少鲨鱼为此被捕杀，而你就是伤害它的罪魁祸首之一。如果大家都不吃鱼翅，就不会有那么多的鲨鱼失去自己的生命。

Videos about sharks on YouTube

2011-03-24T11:29:00.003-07:00

Did you know that some sharks let people pet them? Check out the friendly reef sharks in this YouTube video. (Kids would love this.)

This is Your Ocean: Sharks is an upcoming film about sharks in an effort to depict sharks in a new light. Narrated by oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, with marine life artists Wyland, Dr. Guy Harvey, and shark expert Jim Abernethy, Jim Abernethy's connection to a 14-foot tiger shark named Emma plays a key role in the film with never before seen footage.

Recently I found out that Rob Stewart's Sharkwater (pictured above) is on YouTube. Check out the above scene in Sharkwater part 1/9 at 3:30 min.

Also on YouTube is this video of a shark who was pulled on board, its fins cut off, then tossed back into the ocean. That scene is at 1:10 min.

Here's a YouTube video of a whale shark who's found with its fins cut off. It's still moving and looking around.

Image: Rob Stewart in Sharkwater

WildAid Shark-fin PSAs

2011-03-24T11:29:00.001-07:00

Image: WildAid PSA by JWT Shanghai for China

The glass in front of this poster is fractured as if a bullet had been shot through it. There is a coin in the bullet hole. The text on the poster "When the buying stops, the killing can too" directs the meaning: the coin (buying) represents the bullet that kills.

Does this work? Yes, it is attention-grabbing and conceptually sound. Possible drawback: some people may find it too subtle as they walk pass it quickly; it could work within the context provided by a bigger campaign.

Images: WildAid PSAs on buses in San Francisco to support the California shark fin ban

These PSAs are clearer and more informative, effective at calling attention to the problem and generating discussion about the issue. Having a celebrity present the message works well with Chinese, may even be persuasive to people who happen to click with that celebrity, and makes saying 'no' to shark fin soup easier. The mercury PSA (bottom right) may detract some people, especially those who eat it frequently.

The above WildAid PSAs assume: (1) People don't want to kill sharks, (2) People like sharks/have a positive image of sharks, and (3) People don't want sharks to become extinct.

Not true, as shown by these comments following news articles about the California shark fin bill AB 376:

Sharks are prehistoric killing machines: Kill them before they kill us.

"Are you people brain dead? Your talking about sharks! Blood thirsty killing machines that rip and kill with their mouths anything that moves. They are not even fish. They have been on the planet longer than any living animal. They probaly like pain. Eat or be eaten. Go ahead and pet one. Posted by Zen69 on March 17, 2011 at 10:25 AM"

Sharks are very dangerous and must be removed from our oceans. Would it be good if dinosaurs are still in our forests?

"Shark are very dangerous fishes, so they must be removed from oceans. Is it good enough if dinosaurs would be in our forests? 15-03-2011 Oleg (Ukraine)"

For these people, or the ones whose desire to conserve sharks are trumped by other goals, a better strategy would be to show how decimation of sharks directly impacts them or their children (e.g. by taking a longer term perspective).

WildAid video PSAs: Stephanie Sun and Yao Ming say no to shark fin soup. More videos...

Seriously WildAid, many people in China do not care about sharks or sharks going extinct. However people do care about their children (article, video) and understand the danger of ignoring environmental problems, because of the pollution and growing cancer rates. The media campaign needs to target China's audience, not a Western audience (beyond simply using Chinese representation, though that is an excellent start). In addition, for many Chinese, similar to Japanese, cuteness works – use a more engaging and sympathetic-looking shark. Rehabilitate the image of the shark (video). On the whole though, WildAid's work on shark conservation in China and elsewhere is innovative and invaluable.

Alexis Rockman

2011-02-04T17:57:00.001-08:00

Cataclysm (2003) in Volcano

The Farm (2000) in Wonderful World

Rat Evolution (1999) in Future Evolution

Ready to Rumble (1998) in Concrete Jungle

'Vivid landscapes - full of dinosaurs, insects, birds and farm animals - are set against natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions and floods. In them, he depicts surreal, sometimes post-apocalyptic scenes that foreshadow the fate of the world if mankind doesn't better protect its delicate ecosystems.' [Images 1 & 2 and text from aceditions.com/artists/alexis-rockman. and images 3 & 4 from alexisrockman.net]

Mac James's Shark Fin Soup

2011-01-09T18:52:00.005-08:00

Image: www.macjamesonkauai.com

Sharks at Underwater World

2011-01-09T17:49:00.001-08:00

I just went to the Underwater World oceanarium in Singapore. It was more crowded than Disneyland. This scene shows part of the long acrylic tunnel where visitors go through.

Photographed a visitor who elected to 'Dive with the Sharks', seen here petting a baby shark. The sharks include adult leopard sharks, white tip reef sharks, and nurse sharks.

It made me think of Rob Stewart hugging a shark in his film Sharkwater. This scene is in Sharkwater part 1/9 at 3:30 min.

A sign in the acrylic tunnel relating the sharks to sharks' fin soup.

Because virtually all upscale Chinese restaurants serve shark's fin soup, I'm happy about the didactic shark exhibit in Singapore, which had earlier waged a campaign to avoid shark's fin soup (a wedding tradition as entrenched as diamond rings), and wish that the exhibit were in Hong Kong and China (as well as Rob Stewart's Sharkwater film).

Image: 'Chiu Chou Shark Fin Restaurant' in Hong Kong, 12.2010

Background
Each year almost 100 million sharks are killed to make shark's fin soup. Many times a shark is dragged onto a boat and its fins cut off, then tossed back into the ocean while it dies a slow and painful death. This practice is not only cruel but wasteful [www.sharkwater.com]. Sharks have the most mercury compared to other fishes, since they're top of the food chain and toxins (e.g. mercury from our pollution of the ocean) accumulate in their system as they eat other animals. Mercury is a neural toxin that damages the brain and nervous system.

Related:

An interesting video of swimming with tiger sharks (not the cuddly kind, unlike the reef or nurse sharks), however it's not advisable to hand-feed sharks. Similar to feeding bears, it's not good for the bears or the sharks as it changes their natural behavior. The shark opens and closes its mouth to take in water to breathe www.dailyscubadiving.com/year-2009-is-declared-year-of-sharks.

Previous post about sharks...
'No shark-fin' cards
Cities in 3D

Rebirth as animals: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Micheangelo Frammartino

2011-01-09T17:36:00.000-08:00

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Loong Boonmee raleuk chat
2010, Drama, Sci-fi & Fantasy

In Buddhist thought, any human could be reborn as an animal, and any animal could be reborn as a human. Animals have always been regarded as sentient beings and have an equal potential to become enlightened. 'Watching the just-released trailer for Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives it's impossible not to think of the director's brilliant Tropical Malady.' Uncle Boonmee, who knows he will die in 48 hours, calls his distant relatives to take him back from hospital to home. 'There, they are greeted by the ghost of his deceased wife who has re-appeared to take care of him. His lost son also returns from the jungle in an ape-like form. The son has mated with a creature known as a 'monkey ghost' and has lived in the trees with her for the past 15 years. ... while the ghost wife is doing his kidney dialysis, Boonmee has a sudden urge to visit a place she has mentioned. So the group takes a journey into the jungle at night. It is full of animals and spirits. They finally reach a cave on top of the hill. Boonmee realizes that this is the cave in which he was born in the first life that he can remember.' [Todd Brown at twitchfilm.com]

Micheangelo Frammartino's Le Quattro volte (Four Times) 2010

'Frammartino orchestrates a breathtaking one-take comic set piece in which a panic-stricken dog disrupts an Easter parade, which causes a small pickup truck to crash through the gates holding the goats, who proceed to storm the man’s house. This astonishing sequence, followed up by a clearly fictional death scene, indicates that Le Quattro volte will stray further from the documentary form .... Frammartino’s strategies are simple, and he introduces the grand death/rebirth, all-living-things-are-carbon-based theme via a single cut, from the man breathing his last to a goat kid emerging from the womb and falling to the ground, covered in fluid.' [Benjamin Mercer in reverseshot.com]

John Bankston's Fabulist Garden

2011-01-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

'With a distinct aesthetic that recalls children's coloring books, the work of John Bankston ventures into a realm where fairy tales, science fiction, and contemporary issues of racism and sexuality coexit. Bankston tends to work in series that set forth contemporary fables addressing themes of masculine identity and transgression. ... his visual narratives, which lie somewhere between the Brothers Grimm and Tranny World -- a San Francisco cable television program that features transvestites -- describe a world where innocence is forever lost. ... characters disguise themselves in masquerade, blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction, human and animal characteristics, and masculinity and femininity.' [2002 SECA Art Award: John Bankston, Andrea Higgins, Chris Johnson, Will Rogan published by SFMOMA]

Nathalie Djurberg's "Snakes Know It's Yoga"

2010-12-19T23:03:00.000-08:00

Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH4t-FQRRUo&feature=related

'Animals often pair up with humans in Nathalie Djurberg’s Claymation videos, so it wasn’t a surprise to see a blue snake bat yellow goo-goo eyes at a naked yogi in the Swedish-born artist’s latest work, “Snakes Know It’s Yoga” ... a storeroom full of animal bones was appropriate for an artist whose territory lies somewhere between the grotesques of Goya and the darker regions of Pee-wee’s Playhouse. / On the largest of four screens placed among display cases full of skulls, the adoring serpent catapulted the startled yogi into comical yoga poses, then tore at the man’s flesh, contorting his dismembered limbs into a distended figure out of a Salvador Dalí painting. / The video was pure Djurberg, whose twisted scenarios tend to begin with fairy-tale sweetness and dissolve into grisly sadism.' [Linda Yablonsky at www.nytimes.com]

Related:
Paul Chan's My Birds…trash… the future

Chris Jordan's albatross photos at SJMA

2010-12-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

Image: www.chrisjordan.com

These photos are on view at San Jose Museum of Art -- just saw them a few days ago... 'The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking. To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way (www.chrisjordan.com).' An article and video is at www.huffingtonpost.com, and Chris Jordan's TED talk is on youtube.

Related:
Institute of Critical Zoologists: It 'aims to develop a critical approach to the zoological gaze, or how humans view animals. ... Animals convey meaning and values that are culture-specific, and in viewing the animal, we cannot escape the cultural context, political climate and social values in which that observation takes place. ... We seek to develop a Critical Zoological Gaze that pursues creative, interdisciplinary research that includes perspectives typically ignored by animal studies, such as aesthetics; and to advance unconventional, even radical, means of understanding human and animal relations. The institute also discourages anthropomorphism in the appreciation and understanding of zoology.' [www.criticalzoologists.org]

David Attenborough's lyre bird video

2010-10-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y&NR=1

Nina Katchadourian's Natural Car Alarms replaces the car alarm's typical six-tone siren with a similar one made only of bird calls. Well... Reality's stranger than fiction, as David Attenborough's video clip of the lyre bird's amazing vocal abilities will show. This video prompted one viewer to comment, "its pretty sad when the sound of the surrounding trees being cut down is now a mating call" (Nexarianz, <www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y&NR=1>). Photo from skola.amoskadan.cz

Mark Ryden's Incarnation

2010-08-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

'White Wall: Your work juxtaposes sweet, fairy tale-like figures with disturbing images of things like meat grinders. What are you hoping to get at with that juxtaposition?

Mark Ryden: It is interesting how many people find images of meat so very disturbing yet they don't find it disturbing when they chow down a burger from McDonalds. In our culture there seems to be a complete disconnect between meat as food and the body of the animal that the meat comes from. I suppose it is this contradiction that brings me to repeatedly return to meat in my art. The oblivious consumption of meat without thought of the living, breathing creature it comes from is perplexing. It surprises many people to learn that I am actually not a vegetarian, I do eat meat. I myself don't think it is morally wrong to eat meat. What I do personally is to try to remain aware of what I am eating and where it came from. ...' [White Wall Magazine. 04.29.2010] Mark Ryden will be doing a book-signing at SFMOMA next week on 08.12.2010.

Related: Another non-vegetarian, Jonathan Horowitz's Go Vegan show at Gavin Brown.

Donald Weber's Dinner

2010-04-11T16:37:00.005-07:00

Cute — I'm going to include bunnies in my Edible Pets Store. The tag-line for the store is: 'No need for pet-sitters when you go on vacation — just eat your pet and get a new one when you come back.'

Besides rabbits, the store carries pigs, parrot fishes, chicks, and turtles.

Chicks — eat them when they're no longer cute.

Parrot fish — the perfect pet. It looks friendly... and tasty.

Related: Food Inc. is one of my favorite movies.

Eduardo Kac's Edunia

2010-04-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

[From www.ekac.org:] Edunia 'is a genetically-engineered hybrid of myself and Petunia. ... [M]y gene produces a protein in the veins only. The gene was isolated and sequenced from my blood. ... The result of this molecular manipulation is a bloom that creates the living image of human blood rushing through the veins of a flower.

The gene I selected is responsible for the identification of foreign bodies. In this work, it is precisely that which identifies and rejects the other that I integrate into the other, thus creating a new kind of self that is partially flower and partially human.' Hmmmm.... not sure about his intention to dismantle the defense of the other. (Thanks Meredith!)

Related:
Amy Youngs's Rearming the Spineless Opuntia: 'Through cloning and micropropagation technologies, humankind has engineered creations such as the Spineless Opuntia, a cactus that lacks its original defense mechanism against those who eat them.' This kinetic sculpture's armor closes up when approached and opens when people move away from it. [www.ylem.org/artists/ayoungs]

Video: www.ylem.org/artists/ayoungs

Robert Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar

2010-03-31T17:09:00.001-07:00

Video: artforum, youtube

'Everything I love and admire about Bresson is encapsulated by just one minute of one scene in this masterpiece [Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)]: The donkey Balthazar, pulling a hay cart through a circus menagerie, comes face-to-face with four animals in succession—a tiger, a polar bear, a chimpanzee, and an elephant. As Balthazar passes before each, the film cuts back and forth between his gaze and that of the other creature. Presumably, only a few feet separate them, but that distance is insurmountable. It’s a standard construction in film to use this technique when two human characters meet, revealing in the eyes of each something of their feelings and motivations. In Bresson’s film, however, these looks are exchanged by animals. He gives us their point of view, but no entry into their thoughts or feelings. ... The sequence is entirely inscrutable and can only leave us spellbound.' [Maragaret Honda, Artforum 03.2010]

'Placing a nonhuman protagonist at the center of Au hasard Balthazar instead of focusing on any of the constellation of human characters that enter the donkey’s orbit necessitated radical reconsideration of the place of editing in film language. He may be a donkey, but he’s our avatar through the film nonetheless. ... Bresson’s editing choices throughout push the limits of filmmaking as a universal language by legibly and plausibly rendering the inner life of an animal. (Robert Bresson most likely couldn’t communicate directly with donkeys during his lifetime, but Au hasard Balthazar might convince otherwise.) Of course, we’ll never know exactly what passed between Balthazar and the elephant, the other animals met upon his entry into the circus, ... but the film leaves a sense of something consciously felt between the donkey and all of those he encounters. ... Bresson performs yeoman’s work in making the unlikely possible: Balthazar remains one of cinema’s great tragic heroes.' [Jeff Reichert, ReverseShot]

Tiffany Bolzic's The Silent Dredge

2010-03-22T19:10:00.001-07:00

Aquatic animals from the lowest depths to the highest levels of the ocean are being hauled up, while a new species rushes in.

Related:
Darwin's Nightmare (2004), a documentary film, deals with the environmental and social effects of the fishing industry around Lake Victoria in Tanzania. 'The Nile Perch was introduced into Lake Victoria and caused the extinction of hundreds of local species. ... Arms and munitions are often flown in on the same planes which transport the Nile perch fillets to European consumers, feeding the very conflicts which the aid was sent to remedy. ... The appalling living and working conditions of the indigenous people, in which basic sanitation is completely absent and many children turn to drugs and prostitution, is covered in great depth; because the Nile perch fish is farmed commercially, all the prime fillets are sold to European supermarkets, leaving the local people to survive on the ... fish carcasses [crawling with maggots]' (wikipedia entry, video on youtube).

Dale Carrico: Scratch a vegetarian, find a cyborg

2010-03-11T23:34:00.001-08:00

Dale Carrico blogs about 'Animal Rites, Vegetarian Criticism, Brutal Theory' at amormundi.blogspot.com. On the nonhuman-human animal demarcation (from the last few paragraphs of Animal Rites):

'[E]ven practices and vocabularies of liberation, whenever they are mobilized and organized by the conventional claim that "we will no longer be treated as ‘mere’ animals!" necessarily simultaneously undermine as well as reanimate certain conspicuously asymmetrical relations of power. They do so by challenging their own location with respect to the human/nonhuman demarcation but otherwise fortifying it.

But surely, it cannot properly be the ambition of vegetarian criticism or activism to eliminate this [nonhuman-human animal] distinction altogether, however. Not even the most utopian advocates for animal rights expect ... that one day nonhuman animals will find their way to the voting booth, or urge the propriety of extending to nonhuman predatory animals, for example, human standards of fairplay or penalties of law. And though I am sensitive to the ways in which observations of this kind are typically used to dismiss or trivialize the very idea of vegetarian sensitivity and practice this seems to me no good reason to refuse to register their significance and force altogether. ...

What is wanted instead is a reconceptualization of the political in which both human and nonhuman animals count as actors and potential peers. This reconceptualization would be facilitated I think by the insistence that the relation of a human being to his ham sandwich or to her leather jacket is always already a relation between animals, always already a political relation between potential peers, and not a prepolitical, instrumental relation of human beings to the realization of their wants. ...

For me, vegetarian criticism must actually take as its point of departure the inevitability of human/nonhuman animal demarcations, an inevitability that is continuous with the concomitant inevitability of ongoing demarcations among animals, human and nonhuman. And this vegetarian criticism should take, then, as its tasks, both the perpetual troubling of these demarcations and the documentation of their transformations and effects. This would seem to me to be a critical practice that comports well with a sense of the political that has as its constitutive anxiety the simultaneous recognition of the necessity and the impossibility of eliminating violence altogether from public life, a sense of the political which provokes a seriousness the strictures of which afford not purity, but, it is to be hoped, among other things, perhaps a real measure of pleasure.'

Chloe Piene's Blackmouth

2010-02-06T21:22:00.009-08:00

Video documentation: www.lumeneclipse.com/gallery/23/piene/index.html

In this mesmerizing video installation, Blackmouth's larger-than-life-size (~2x) confronts the viewer, its audio slowed and distorted into deep non-human animalistic howls, a hybrid non-human/human animal.

Eugenio Merino's 4 The Love of Go(l)d, Berlinde De Bruyckere's Marthe

2010-01-18T19:01:00.001-08:00

On the topic of interspecies art, how can one forget Damien Hirst who uses animals as art materials in his factory. Eugenio Merino's 4 The Love of Go(l)d is a giant sculpture displayed in the type of glass case that Hirst likes to fill with formaldehyde and dead animals, of a Hirst figure pointing a gun at himself and blowing his own brains out. This piece is a response to Hirst's For the Love of God, which is derivative of the crystal-covered skull of his friend John LeKay and whom Hirst did not credit. The asking price of For the Love of God is £50,000,000 ($100 million or 75 million euros). "I thought that, given that he thinks so much about money, his next work could be that he shot himself," said Eugenio Merino. "Like that the value of his work would increase dramatically..." [UK Guardian:
'Suicide' sculpture of Damien Hirst causes controversy in Spain'] Massimo Deganutti did a version of this with Damien Hirst in formaldehyde.

Related: The Great Contemporary Art Bubble movie

Berlinde De Bruyckere's Marthe (below) would make Francis Bacon proud and Damien Hirst envious. Another of her piece is at New Museum's After Nature show.

(Aziz+Cucher)'s Rick

2010-01-18T19:00:00.015-08:00

Daniel Lee's Manimals, Tara Tucker

2010-01-18T19:00:00.013-08:00

Image: Year of the Ox (1993)

Image: Year of the Cock (1993)

Related:
Future co-evolution... Tara Tucker's hybrid animals can make their own food.

Eugene Thacker at ATC on 04.26.2010

2010-01-18T19:00:00.011-08:00

'Eugene Thacker is a writer and theorist whose works examine the philosophical aspects of science and technology. His most recent book is entitled 'After Life' and will be published by the University of Chicago Press. He is also the author of the books 'The Exploit: A Theory of Networks' (co-authored with Alexander Galloway), 'The Global Genome: Biotechnology, Politics, and Culture,' and 'Biomedia.' Thacker is Associate Professor in the School of Literature, Communication & Culture at the Georgia Institute of Technology.' [atc.berkeley.edu]

Some links/books related to art and genetics:
Data Made Flesh: Biotechnology & the Discourse of the Posthuman, Eugene Thacker. From Cultural Critique 53 (2003).
"Body Invasion & Resistant Cultural Practice", Critical Art Ensemble. From Art Journal 59:3.
Critical Art Ensemble <www.critical-art.net>
FutureNatural, ed. George Robertson, Melinda Mash, Lisa Tickner, Jon Bird, Barry Curtis, and Tim Putnam (1996).
Gene(sis) art show <www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibition/genesis>
Signs of Life: Bio Art and Beyond by Eduardo Kac. Leonardo Books
Eduardo Kac <www.ekac.org>
Tactical Biopolitics: Art, Activism, and Technoscience by Beatriz da Costa (Editor), Kavita Philip (Editor). Leonardo Books
The Prosthetic Impulse: From a Posthuman Present to a Biocultural Future
Telepresence and Bio Art: Networking Humans, Rabbits and Robots by Eduardo Kac
Life Extreme: An Illustrated Guide to the New Life by Eduardo Kac & Avital Ronell
The Molecular Gaze: Art in the Genetic Age by Suzanne Anker, Dorothy Nelkin
Art in the Age of Technoscience: Genetic Engineering, Robotics, and Artificial Life in Contemporary Art by Ingeborg Reichle, Gloria Custance, and Robert Zwijnenberg
Art Journal, Spring 1996, Vol. 55, No. 1: "Contemporary Art and the Genetic Code" by College Art Association (Jan 1, 1996)
"Manipulating genetic identities: the creation of chimeras, cyborgs and (cyber-)golems." from Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine by Ernestine Daubner (Digital - Jul 29, 2005) - HTML
Paradise Now: Picturing The Genetic Revolution by Marvin Heiferman, Carole Kismaric, and Ian Berry (2001)
Perfecting Mankind: Eugenics and Photography
Foreign Body: Photography and the Prelude to Genetic Modification

Links to class readings:
Dale Carrico's Technoscience critical theory class.
Alenda Chang's Representing Nature: Ecocritical Approaches rhetoric class at Berkeley (reader available at Replica Copy). In case you're suffering from theory withdrawal, you can sit in lecture classes at Berkeley.
Joan Slonczewski's Biology in Science Fiction

Octavia E. Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy

2010-01-18T19:00:00.009-08:00

I love this book. Octavia E. Butler is my new favorite fiction writer. (Read excerpts on amazon, wikipedia entry...) A question posed by Xenogenesis trilogy (now titled Lilith's Brood) is: Would you give up physical aspects of what you identify as being human if it makes you stronger (healthier), more intelligent (e.g. less violent as a society), and better-looking (I'm throwing this last factor in because it is the main reason for Lilith not wanting to trade genes with the non-human species).

In the novel, a non-human species has arrived on earth, after humans have almost destroyed themselves and the Earth, to rescue humans and trade genes. This species has a third gender, the ooloi, who have the ability to manipulate genetics, and are biological traders, driven to share genes with other intelligent species, changing both parties: "We do what you would call genetic engineering. We know you had begun to do it yourselves a little, but it's foreign to you. We do it naturally. We must do it. It renews us, enables us to survive as an evolving species instead of specializing ourselves into extinction or stagnation. ... It is part of our reproduction, but it's much more deliberate than what any mated pair of humans have managed so far. ... We acquire new life--seek it, investigate it, manipulate it, sort it, use it. We carry the drive to do this in a minuscule cell within a cell, a tiny organelle within every cell of our bodies. ... Because of that organelle, the ooloi can perceive DNA and manipulate it precisely." (Chapter 4, Book 1—Dawn)

Related:

Bdelloid rotifers reproduce asexually, with genetic variation introduced by scavenging DNA.
The New Mexico whiptail lizard is an all-female species whose offspring gets genetic duplicates of its mother but is not a clone (parthenogenesis reproduction), its genetic information conserved by gene duplication.
Fantastic Planet (animated film)

Critical Art Ensemble's Cult of the New Eve

2010-01-18T19:00:00.007-08:00

Cult of the New Eve appropriates 'Christian promissory rhetoric' for 'the promises of miracle cures, abundance and immortality by industry and scientific specialists to persuade the public of the utopian nature of new biotechnology', and also moved this rhetoric from the context of the Church to the context of the cult.

Related:
The Gentle Seduction by Marc Stiegler (a techno-utopian transhumanist short story)

Eduardo Kac's GFP Bunny, Genpets

2010-01-18T19:00:00.005-08:00

[From ekac.org] 'Alba, the green fluorescent bunny, is an albino rabbit. She only glows when illuminated with blue light. She was created with EGFP, an enhanced version of the original wild-type green fluorescent gene found in the jellyfish Aequorea Victoria. EGFP gives about two orders of magnitude greater fluorescence in mammalian cells (including human cells) than the original jellyfish gene.'

[From www.genpets.com] 'Genpets are pre-packaged, bioengineered pets... They are living, breathing genetic animals. We use a process called "Zygote Micro Injection" which is quickly becoming a favourable method to combine DNA, or to insert certain proteins from different species. Most notably it was used in 1997 to splice mice with bioluminescent jellyfish (link) and has since been used to create glowing rabbits, pigs, fish, and monkeys (link). Since then, human DNA has been injected into rabbits, chimpanzees, spider DNA into sheep, and now, Genpets...'

Adam Brandejs, creator of Genpets, also made this animatronic flesh shoe. [From Adam's website] 'The shoe is stitched together with multiple pieces of latex rubber cast out of molds made from my own skin. The shoe's toe and heel raise and lower as it occasionally vibrates/pulsates, and twitches on the floor as if it were still alive.'

Brandon Ballengée malamp

2010-01-18T19:00:00.003-08:00

Image: greenmuseum.org/c/vban

'In 1995, a group of Minnesota school children on a biology field trip were shocked by finding dozens of misshapen Northern Leopard frogs, Rana pipiens. ... [T]he Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the federal Environmental Protection Agency began a statewide survey. Early results exhibited a malformation rate as high as 80% in some ponds and lakes.' (read more at greenmuseum)

Brian Conley's Crocodylus/Salmo

2010-01-18T19:00:00.001-08:00

[From Becoming Animal] 'In Crocodylus/Salmo (2002), a proposal for a massive public-art installation, Conley developed the idea for an inflatable sculpture, to be anchored seaside, whose biomorphic bulges suggest marine life but without specific reference. The shape is derived from an anatomical model of the brain of a crocodile grafted onto that of a salmon. This exaggerated entity ... grew out of Conley's thinking about biomedical technologies that allow cloning, gene-splicing, and cross-species organ-grafting.'

Related:
Mutter Museum: The Mutter Museum: Of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (comprehensive catalog)
Mutter Museum Historic Medical Photographs (photo show of exhibits)
Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body by Armand Marie Leroi. Viking, 2003.
Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo and the Making of the Animal Kingdom by Sean B. Carroll. W. W. Norton and Company, 2005.
Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us About Development and Evolution by Mark S. Blumberg. Oxford University Press, 2008.
Museum of Jurassic Technology [wikipedia]

Nina Katchadourian's Natural Car Alarms

2010-01-15T17:28:00.003-08:00

[From www.ninakatchadourian.com] 'Natural Car Alarms is a project consisting of three cars rigged with modified car alarms whose typical six-tone siren has been replaced with a similar one made only of bird calls. Some of the bird sounds are shockingly electronic in character; others are very bird-like in the quality of their sound, but very alarm-like in their patterning.' Hear an excerpt here:
www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2002/july/car_alarm/

Shark safe sticker

2010-01-15T17:28:00.001-08:00

While walking around SOMA last Sat, I saw this sticker at the entrance to a Chinese restaurant (Fang). Needless to say this restaurant is now the one to take parents and relatives.

Animal Welfare Approved, Certified Humane, Organic certification

2010-01-15T17:21:00.003-08:00

Update 04.21.2011: A better certification than both 'Certified Humane' and 'Organic' is 'Animal Welfare Approved'. For example, while both 'Certified Humane' and 'Organic' allow debeaking of chickens and forced molting through starvation to maximize egg production, 'Animal Welfare Approved' doesn't. Here's a chart comparing the different certifications for eggs: www.grist.org/phpThumb/phpThumb.php?src=http://www.grist.org/i/assets/humane_eggs.jpg&w=615. Here's another one which addresses forced molting: www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/guide_egg_labels.html. Comparison charts for all animals: www.eathumane.org/pages/2500_comparing_food_labeling_programs.cfm

To find places in your area which are Animal Welfare Approved, just type in your zip code on this page: www.animalwelfareapproved.org/product-search

Previous 01.15.2010: The Certified Humane Raised & Handled® program is a farm animal welfare and food labeling program in the U.S. dedicated to improving the welfare of farm animals in food production and include all stages of the animal's life including handling and slaughter. Humane Farm Animal Care's Animal Care Standards require that animals have ample space, shelter and gentle handling to limit stress. Here’s a list of products that are certified humane products. In San Francisco, there are many stores that carry certified humane products: Prather Ranch Meat Company (at the Ferry Building), Andronico’s, Bi-Rite, Buffalo Whole Foods, Good Life Grocery, Harvest Ranch Market, Mollie Stone’s, Nature’s Stop, Other Avenues, Rainbow Grocery, Real Foods, Tower Market, Valencia Natural Foods, and Whole Foods. Most of them have only dairy, none have eggs, a few have meat and deli items. Delica (in the Ferry Building) gets some of its meat from Prather Ranch. Incanto is a certified humane restaurant in San Francisco.

Related:
Temple Grandin (2010) is a biopic of Temple Grandin (played by Claire Danes), an autistic woman who became one of the top scientists in humane farm animal handling.

Favorite vegan dishes in San Francisco —
Hijiki-soybean salad at Delica (vegetarian-friendly)
Papaya salad at Out the Door (vegetarian-friendly)
Bean curd rolls, bittermelon-tomato, 'seabass'-eggplant at Enjoy (vegetarian)
Anything at Millenium (vegan)

Marlene McCarty's Group 3

2010-01-15T17:20:00.004-08:00

Image: www.sikkemajenkinsco.com

'Humans nurse baby apes, and humans and gorillas communicate in sign language. ... drawings are visible underneath the final version, suggesting that each narrative has a potential for multiple interpretations. You may discover an outline of a gorilla behind the figure of a man, a faint moustache on a woman's face and many hermaphroditic figures.'
[www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aPrH0Y.UbfBk&refer=muse]

Interspecies communication: Koko, a talking gorilla

2010-01-15T17:20:00.003-08:00

Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmuu8UEi2ko&feature=video_response

Related:
Chimp gets peanut out of tube
Chimp is better than humans at game
Nature: Koko. PBS, 2004.
Koko: A Talking Gorilla directed by Barbet Schroeder. Criterion, 1978. (On youtube.)
Our Inner Ape by Franz de Waal. Riverhead, 2005.
Primate Visions: Gender, Race, and Nature in the World of Modern Science by Donna Haraway. Routlege, reprinted 1990.

Diana Thater's gorillagorillagorilla

2010-01-09T17:14:00.000-08:00

Video: www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/expressions/expressions-slideshow/thater-video-clip/index.html

Diana Thater created a touching piece, a video installation 'gorillagorillagorilla'. '[It] is placed opposite a diagonal that cuts across the Jerwood Gallery. Thater’s silent moving image installation intervenes in and deconstructs the existing nineteenth century terracotta architecture. The viewer becomes part of the work, her or his shadow disturbing and contributing to the scaled narrative of the gorillas filmed in the rainforest of the Mefou Sanctuary in Cameroon. The installation creates a recurrent experience, allowing the spectator to revisit the moving imagery as he or she weaves in and out of the individual rooms. In Thater’s work, nature becomes larger and wider than we can fathom. "I create sculptures with images of nature in space,’ says Diana Thater, describing her monumental video installations that analyse complexities of the natural world, and their relationship with the human being."' This work was a co-commission by the London Natural History Museum and Kunsthaus Graz and was created with the support of Bristol Zo Gardens and the Mefou Sanctuary in Cameroon.
[www.gulbenkian.org.uk/news/press-releases/2009/after-darwin]

Becoming Animal: Patricia Piccinini, Motohiko Odani

2010-01-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

Image: Patricia Piccinini's life-like sculpture

Images: Video stills from Motohiko Odani's Rompers

'In Becoming Animal, 12 internationally known artists investigate the shifting boundaries between animal and human. ... The works included in Becoming Animal—which accompanies an exhibit at MASS MoCA—range from the aviary and cabinet of curiosities of Mark Dion to the gun-toting bird collages of Michael Oatman. Nicolas Lampert's machine-animal collages and Jane Alexander's corpse-like humanoids suggest a new landscape of alienation. Rachel Berwick's investigation of the last Galapagos tortoise from the island of Pinto and Brian Conley's humanized mating call of the Tungara frog question the divide between human and animal communication. Patricia Piccinini imagines a bodyguard for a bird on the edge of extinction and Ann-Sofi Siden recreates the bedroom—and paranoia—of psychologist Alice Fabian. Natalie Jeremijenko presents another installment in her ongoing Ooz, reverse-engineering the zoo, and Kathy High's installation of "trans-animals" remembers lab rats who have given their lives for science. Sam Easterson's videos allow us to see from the viewpoint of an aardvark, a tarantula, a tumbleweed; Motohiko Odani's films show a surrealistic genetically modified bestiary. Becoming Animal documents these works with eye-popping full-color images, taking us on a visual journey through an unknown world.'

Nato Thompson, editor. Becoming Animal (catalog to Mass MOCA exhibit). Cambridge: MIT Press, 2005. <mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=10590>

Mark Menjivar's fridge photos

2010-01-08T01:24:00.004-08:00

Above: The refrigerator of a midwife and middle-school science teacher from San Antonio, shot the week after deciding to eat locally grown produce. Below: the refrigerator of a San Antonio bartender.

[From Mark Menjivar's statement] 'You Are What You Eat is a series of portraits made by examining the interiors of refrigerators in homes across the United States. For three years I traveled around the country exploring food issues. ... Each fridge is photographed "as is." Nothing added, nothing taken away. These are portraits of the rich and the poor. Vegetarians, Republicans, members of the NRA, those left out, the under appreciated, former soldiers in Hitler’s SS, dreamers, ... My hope is that we will think deeply about how we care. How we care for our bodies. How we care for others. And how we care for the land.' [Via Eyeteeth blog]

Related:

It's important for women who are vegan/vegetarian/pescetarian to get enough iron. Iron is the backbone nutrient for enhancing the building of oxygenated blood. Vitamin B12 is also needed to make healthy blood. Iron is a key nutrient in cells that enables thyroid/zinc gene signals to function in metabolic pathways. Non-heme iron can be hard to absorb. Eat iron-rich food (e.g. pumpkin seeds — raw pepitas from Trader Joe's) and iron supplements together with food that enhance the absorption of iron (vitamin C-rich food, brocolli). Foods that inhibit the absorption of iron include coffee and spinach.

Iron Rich Foods containing Non-Heme Iron
Beans (lentils are a great source)
Pumpkin seeds
Blackstrap molasses
Baked potato with skin
Canned asparagus

Iron Absorption Enhancers
Fruits: orange, orange juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit etc
Vegetables: broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green & red peppers
White wine

Iron Absorption Inhibitors
Red wine, coffee & tea
Vegetables: spinach, chard, beet greens, rhubarb and sweet potato
Whole grains and bran
Soy products
[www.healthcastle.com]

Other good iron sources include kelp (algae and spirulina, chlorella, dulse, sea lettuce) and red beet root.

Carol J. Adams's 'An Animal Manifesto'

2010-01-08T01:24:00.003-08:00

Excerpts from an interview with Carol J. Adams by Tom Tyler, "An Animal Manifesto: Gender, Identity, and Vegan-Feminism in the Twenty-First Century", on topics such as Haraway's companion animals, and the question of animals rights in a postmodern age:

'TT: Donna Haraway has, of course, written two manifestos already: for cyborgs and for companion animals. I know you have reservations about the latter: what are its limitations from the perspective of a vegan-feminist manifesto?

CJA: I think she is attempting something more profoundly personal here. But I found the final product, her small pamphlet, extremely disturbing. It feels uneven, as though it were cobbled together. And her voice is not so much ambiguous as inconsistent. Sometimes it feels downright petulant. It’s the lacunae in Haraway that disturb. Reading it against and with Derrida make what is left unsaid so damning. Derrida’s feels to be a manifesto in all but name; Haraway’s a manifesto only in name, more an apologia. Discussing circuses, Derrida paints a picture of ‘an animal trainer having his sad subjects, bent low, file past.’ Haraway, through a reference to Vicki Hearne’s beliefs, defends ‘circus trainers,’ referring to animals in the circus as ‘the animals they work with’. At this point, with all the information about circuses, why would someone alert to how words work, choose the euphemism ‘work with’? Derrida, as you point out, does not shy away from engaging the issue of the Holocaust and genocide when talking about what is happening to animals, while Haraway pauses to condemn ‘the outrageous equating of the killing of the Jews in Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, with the butcheries of the animal-industrial complex’.

Regarding animal rights, Haraway is dismissive, calling us the ‘rights besotted’. Derrida, more generously, acknowledges ‘In response to the irresistible but unacknowledged unleashing and the organized disavowal of this torture, voices are raised – minority, weak, marginal voices, little assured of their discourse, of their right to discourse and the enchantment of their discourse within the law, as a declaration of rights – in order to protect, in order to appeal (we’ll return to this) to what is still presented in such a problematic way as animal rights, in order to awaken us to our responsibilities and our obligations with respect to the living in general, and precisely to this fundamental compassion that, were we to take it seriously, would have to change even the very basis (and the basis is what I wish to discuss today) of the philosophical problematic of the animal’.

Haraway’s embrace of Vicki Hearne’s position, a position left fixed by her death, results in an impatient, and I would argue, dated, dismissal of ‘animal rights’. Haraway’s aversion to animal rights doesn’t seem to have mutated or adapted since Hearne’s 1991 article against animal rights. I wish I could understand the categorical disparagement of animal rights that, with a broad sweep, includes even those animal advocates who challenge ‘rights language’, a large majority of whom are women. For which companion species can we safely advocate if we wish to avoid her derision? Only dogs? I do not comprehend why a feminist concerned with relations between species decidedly ignores the many feminist scholars who have been writing and talking about this issue, some for at least twenty years. Haraway is interested in finding the ‘relational model of training’, making her disinterestedness in a relational model for veganism and other relationships with animals more shocking. Derrida says ‘no one can deny the unprecedented proportions of this subjection of the animal […] No one can deny seriously, or for very long, that men do all they can in order to dissimulate this cruelty or to hide it from themselves, in order to organize on a global scale the forgetting or misunderstanding of this violence that some would compare to the worst cases of genocide (there are also animal genocides: the number of species endangered because of man takes one’s breath away)’. Yet Haraway seems to.

And what of dogs? She is interested in ‘naturecultures’ - the naturecultures of humans and canines, for instance, and ‘ethical relating, within or between species’. She condemns ‘impulse buyers’ of special breeds of dogs who then dump their dogs, but the breeders for whom the ‘whole dog’ is both a kind and an individual (perhaps the beginning of the problem), and who continue to produce these ‘purebreds,’ escape her critique in this part of the manifesto. Where do the impulse buyers get their dogs?

Can a manifesto compromise? Shouldn’t a manifesto leap to the place where compromise, or half responses, are seen as what they are, a bargain with the established order against which your manifesto is standing? Like a manifesto for companion animals that uses purebreds as the referents? Why breed animals? Why claim for history more value than contemporary situations?

While Haraway acknowledges the ‘scandal of the meat-producing “animal industrial complex”’, she only finds historical irony in the introduction of ‘Basque Pyrenean mountain dogs, who were nurtured in the purebred dog fancy, onto the ranches of the US west to protect Anglo ranchers’ xenobiological cattle and sheep’. Surely there is more than irony here. She seems so hesitant to address herself to the species with whom humans have the least ethical relation - the animals that people eat - indeed, referring to a stop at Burger King to get ‘burgers, coke, and fries’. Her book was published after Burger King started selling veggie burgers, but she fails to tell us what sort of burger she bought.

Haraway protects the dominance that ontologises animals as edible just as the sheepdogs she celebrates protect the ontologised ‘livestock’. She renders unto the renderers the bodies of animals. ‘Livestock’ become the untouchable natureculture intersection and not because of the prions from rendered ‘mad’ cows that cannot be destroyed, but because she cannot or will not acknowledge the possibility that livestock might also be companion species.

I know Haraway is not alone in viewing ‘animal rights’ discourse as proscriptive and ideological, that some people believe a certain possibility of becoming is denied when one tells another what not to do, that we deprive another when we speak or make demands, that activists are dictating to others. But in any evolving natureculture, we should stipulate that flesh eating, unlike debates about it, involves more than human beings. Humans consume animal beings. In human-oriented arguments, the fact that others are dictating to animals by eating them disappears. If we agree to one of the points I propose in the vegan-feminist manifesto, that at least three beings are involved in a discourse about flesh eating (the speaker, the hearer and the animal being eaten), then we see that there is an a priori deprivation within these critiques that needs to be acknowledged: the death of the animal.
...

TT: Your most recent paper, ‘Post-meateating’, considers animal rights as a modern movement in a postmodern age.

CJA: This may offer another explanation for the dismissal of animal rights discourses. In The Sexual Politics of Meat, I proposed that nonhumans used for meat were absent referents. In ‘Post-meateating’ I explore the implications of Frederic Jameson’s insight that in general we have passed from the modern period with nature still a referent, to a postmodern period with culture as the referent. His insight suggests that in a postmodern time the animals have been loosed completely from their status as absent referent — instead the referent will have a cultural context only.

When postmodernism supplanted the idea of the individual, autonomous subject with the idea of multiple selves and a fluid subject, Tom Regan’s scholarly attempt to claim consciousness and biography for animals, The Case for Animal Rights,27 seemed to lose its relevance. (But why not attribute such multiple selves to other animals too?) The animal rights movement that traces itself to Regan or Peter Singer has the misfortune of articulating a modernist claim just as postmodernism absorbs and displaces modernist thinking. It appears dated, announcing in its activism (boycotts/placards/lobbying) its own supposed anachronism. It appears absolutist and serious in a time when irony and self-deprecation prevail. It is seen as too literal, too preachy. Trying to get culture to get back to the referent ‘animal’ is seen as too boring, not playful.

This appears to be what People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) knows. They often deploy visual images but with cultural referents. They use supermodels. They use actors. They take any cultural idea that is circulating and appropriate it. Rather than producing for general consumption the ‘bleeding Jesus’ pictures, as one Catholic friend calls them, of damaged, injured animals, PETA puts on Mickey Mouse masks to protest animal experimentation. They’re ironic.

PETA seems to acknowledge that for many people the referent, animals, is gone. And they are trying to work with what is there, cultural consumption, by manipulating cultural images/issues. They are trying to get people to talk about veganism without having to address what has disappeared. It doesn’t matter who they piss off. In fact the more the better. Tastelessness is newsworthy; nonhuman farmed animals aren’t. The strongest reminder for me of this is that people continue to eat ‘beef’ after the news about mad cows.

One of the results when the cultural becomes the referent, is not only that we forget we are animal beings, but we are allowed to forget that other animals are animal beings, too! Karen Davis says the human hand is the cruelest thing a chicken will know. The non-ambivalent action the activist wants is to stop that hand.I think I still cling to words like ‘integrity’. What sort of referents are animals in scholarly discourse? Are they allowed to be embodied animal beings?'

[References at <www.caroljadams.com/text_interview7.html>. First published in Parallax 38 (Jan-Mar 2006), p120-28. ]

Related books by Carol J. Adams:
The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory.
The Feminist Care Tradition in Animal Ethics: A Reader, edited with Josephine Donovan. Columbia University Press.
Living Among Meat Eaters: The Vegetarian’s Survival Handbook. Continuum, 2003. Chinese edition, 2005
How to Eat Like a Vegetarian More than 250 Shortcuts, Strategies, and Simple Solutions, Carol J. Adams, Patti Breitman
The Pornography of Meat. New York: Continuum International, 2003.
Ecofeminism and the Sacred, editor. New York: Continuum International, 1993.
Neither Man nor Beast: Feminism and the Defense of Animals. New York: Continuum International. 1994. (Pictured above)
Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations, an anthology edited with Josephine Donovan. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1995.

More resources

2010-01-08T01:24:00.001-08:00

Carol J. Adams. The Sexual Politics of Meat. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 1999.
Steve Baker. Postmodern Animal. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Nigel Rothfels, editor. Representing Animals. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002.
Jacques Derrida. The Animal That Therefore I Am. Fordham University Press, 2008.
Donna Haraway. Companion Species Manifesto. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Cary Wolfe. Zoontologies: The Question Of The Animal. University Of Minnesota Press, 2003.
Lorraine Daston, editor. Thinking with Animals: New Perspectives on Anthropomorphism. Columbia University Press, 2006.
Matthew Calarco. Zoographies: The Question of the Animal from Heidegger to Derrida. Columbia University Press, 2008.
Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman, editors. Concrete Jungle. New York: Juno Books, 1997.
Meredith Tromble. "We Are/Are Not Animal". <www.stretcher.org>
Gene(sis) show at BAM <www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibition/genesis>

Mircea Cantor’s Deeparture

2010-01-08T01:23:00.004-08:00

Image: still from video

Another piece which would add to the show. 'Cantor’s nearly three-hour Deeparture (2005) is as severely economical in its setup as it is intense in its poetic potential. It involves two unwitting players, a wolf and a deer, in perhaps the most unlikely and artificial environment in which they can find themselves—a white-cube gallery. The artist shot the animals in 16mm film with a seemingly unforgiving eye, structuring a series of taut close-ups from various angles into a seamlessly looping video. Confounding expectations, the “natural” predator-prey relationship does not play itself out here. Instead, both animals keep their distance from each other and appear in turn tense, confused, exhausted, and dejected, even oblivious. As viewers are gradually roped into emotional engagement with the ultimately unreadable animals, they’re led to wonder if these nonhuman players serve as a blank screen upon which human emotions and psychological attachments are projected.' [visualarts.walkerart.org/detail.wac?id=3552&title=Acquisitions]

Interspecies collaboration: William Wegman, Catherine Chalmers

2010-01-08T01:23:00.003-08:00

Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6afbl--ze8

These two works are not in the show but could enhance it. The first (functioning ironically) is Dog Biscuit in Glass Jar of William Wegman's puppy trying to extract a biscuit from a glass bottle. People who like dogs may be uncomfortable watching this video.

Video: www.catherinechalmers.com/videos.cfm?view_photo=3

The second is Burning at the Stake by Catherine Chalmers (who has a different piece in the show). Even though nobody likes cockroaches, this is surprisingly not easy to watch. If you like this piece you may like Safari which is another video by Chalmers. Below is a list of resources from the show's website.

EXHIBITIONS RELATED TO INTERSPECIES ART

Intelligent Design: Interspecies Art <sweeney.ucr.edu>
After Darwin <www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/expressions/expressions-exhibition/index.html>
Animalkind <artgallery.sdsu.edu/exhibitions/2009_animalkind/>
Becoming Animal <www.massmoca.org/event_details.php?id=310>
Hybridity: The Evolution of Species and Spaces in 21st-Century Art <www.21cmuseum.org/museum/exhibits/hybridity.aspx>
Interspecies <www.artscatalyst.org/projects/global/interspecies.html>

BOOKS

Steve Baker. Picturing the Beast: Animals, Identity and Representation. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1993.
John Berger. "Why Look at Animals" in About Looking. NY: Pantheon Books, 1980.
Donna Haraway. When Species Meet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008.
J.M. Coetzee. The Lives of Animals. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1999.
Linda and Amy Fitzgerald Kalof, editors. The Animals Reader. Oxford and New York: Berg Press, 2007.

OTHERS

The Animal Gaze <www.animalgaze.org/>
Eco-Centric Topics <avant-guardians.com/ecocentric.html>
Green Museum <greenmuseum.org/>
Interspecies <www.greenpeople.org/webpage.cfm?memid=1703&pmtlevel=0&linkpage=http://www.interspecies.com>
Interspecies Collaboration <www.interspeciescollaboration.net/>

Catherine Chalmer's Safari

2010-01-08T01:23:00.001-08:00

Video: www.catherinechalmers.com/videos.cfm

[From UCR Sweeney] 'A macroscopic lens follows the point of view of a cockroach on adventures in an apparent tropical paradise, encountering exotic insects that Chalmers collected for the film.' Below is a photo of a shrimp Peacock Mantis Shrimp (detail) by Joseph Napolitano.

Interspecies art: Nina Katchadourian's Continuum of Cute

2010-01-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

Image: aluminum shelf, 100 individual aluminum mounted photographs, 200 inches

[From UCR Sweeney] 'Fascinated by a profusion of cute animal pictures found on the web, Nina Katchadourian collected one hundred passport-sized photos and arranged them in order of cuteness for Continuum of Cute. This "interspecies beauty contest" - though highly subjective - might have consequences for an animal's ultimate survival.'

Interspecies art: Jill Greenberg's Monkey Suit

2010-01-02T17:57:00.008-08:00

Image: archival pigment print, 50x42 in.

I just saw the show Intelligent Design: Interspecies Art at UCR Sweeney, which explores human interaction with animals with the intention to challenge the anthropocentric (human-centric) perspective. The following are a few pieces from the show. Jill Greenberg's photos are life-size and she treats her nonhuman animal subjects in the same manner as her signature human-animal celebrity portraiture.

Lydia Millet's Love in Infant Monkeys

2010-01-02T17:50:00.001-08:00

[Review by Kathryn Harrison in Bookforum] 'The more affecting, and serious, stories are spun around scientists rather than stars. “Thomas Edison and Vasil Golakov” uses the January 4, 1903, execution of Topsy, a Coney Island circus elephant, as a springboard. ... That she was executed rather than euthanized “assumes the animal is a moral agent, accountable to the law,” and invites Millet to take on human ingenuity, cruelty, and stupidity all at once. But the tale goes beyond satire. Millet conveys her relationship to her subject most simply in her choice of who rather than that as the pronoun appropriate to an elephant. Sentimentally, human beings elevate animals to our own level, which we simultaneously hold superior to theirs. We impose our feelings and intellectual conceits on animals, and when we find in them what we hate in ourselves, we destroy or abandon them.

Many, if not most, of Millet’s readers will go online to watch what she characterizes as one of the first snuff films, “a film that records the willful killing of an unwilling subject.” Some, like this fictional Edison, may be driven to watch it over and over. In fact, by 1903, the inventor had been staging public electrocutions of dogs and cats for years, ostensibly to demonstrate the danger of Nikola Tesla’s alternating-current electricity, owned by Westinghouse, in contrast to the direct current Edison intended to profit by. ... in all these stories, animals are the victims of human projection, not always passive but still recipients of our struggle to understand death, faith, and the divine. ...

Having killed the gods we’ve invented—their familiarity breeding our contempt—we still have animals, creatures that persist, godlike, in their inscrutability and mystery. For as long as their consciousnesses remain alien, even while their brains and behavior are probed by curious humans, beasts will, Millet suggests, suffer something worse than our contempt: our fear and our worship.'

Banksy's cheetah

2010-01-02T17:37:00.002-08:00

Video documentation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IpriP5Bl20

'A dimly lit room housed Banksy’s caged mechanical sculptures, some displayed last year in his storefront fake pet shop in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. A mother hen watched over her chicken-nugget little ones pecking away at a synthetic-looking sauce in a fast-food plastic container; encased raw sausages, salamis and hot dogs writhed and squirmed in a sickly sexual manner; what looked from the back like a cheetah curled in the branches of a tree was chillingly revealed to be a fur coat. ... Judging from the long queues spilling out of Bristol Museum every day and the great enthusiasm displayed by visitors, the artist’s decision to come indoors for a while was only good. The strength of Banksy’s work lies in the fact that, even in a museum environment, his messages are direct enough to reach anyone on the street.' [www.artinamericamagazine.com/reviews/banksy]

Mike Kelly

2009-09-15T22:47:00.001-07:00

Horizontal Tracking Shots show at Gagosian 7 Nov-23 Dec 09

Petting Zoo at Skulptur Projekte

'The angels who came to Sodom and Gomorrah to put an end to the notorious sins of the cities’ inhabitants warned only Lot and his wife that they must leave the city. And although they were told to do so without looking back even once, Lot’s wife disobeyed the angels’ instruction and was transformed into a pillar of salt. ... ever since the tragic event, animals have come to the pillar to lick the salt. ... Mike Kelley is restaging this biblical legend, expanding the scene, however, to include the visitors. The animals may be fed and petted, and all of them – sheep, goats, and ponies – will be crowding together with the visitors around Mrs. Lot’s pillar.' [www.lwl.org/LWL/Kultur/skulptur-projekte/kuenstler/kelley]

Urs Fisher

2009-09-11T12:21:00.002-07:00

Showing at New Museum 28 Oct 09 - 24 Jan 10

Olek Kulik's I Bite America and America Bites Me

2009-09-11T12:21:00.001-07:00

Here's an update to Joseph Beuy's piece by Olek Kulik, which also references the cultural setting of America. "Kulik performed as a dog, this time in a specially built cage, where the spectator would come in wearing protective garb. ... At the Interpol group exhibition in Stockholm in 1996, he performed in the gallery chained next to a sign labelled ‘dangerous’. An international scandal occurred when he not only attacked members of the public who chose to ignore the sign, in one case biting a man, but also attacked other artworks within the exhibition, partially destroying some pieces. For Kulik this was an excusable act, as there was a warning label attached to his performance that people chose to disregard. His intention was to divulge his angst of the current cultural crisis through the violent anger of a dog" [Wikipedia]. Funny piece, though it has the common problem of projecting human emotions onto animals.

Fetus cookie cutter

2009-09-10T13:40:00.001-07:00

Available at www.stupid.com/fun/FETS.html

Donna Haraway's lecture at EGS

2009-09-10T13:34:00.001-07:00

EGS video: YouTube

Donna Haraway will be giving a lecture at CCA on 10.20.2009. She wrote "The Cyborg Manifesto", "Promise of Monsters","When Species Meet"... Here's a lecture available online, "Cyborgs, Dogs and Companion Species", about the birth of the kennel, cyborgs, dogs and companion species, humans, machines, computer, organisms, technoscience, genetics, nature, culture, consciousness, philosophy, emergent ontologies, social relationships, societies, Michel Foucault, figure, reference, cyborg manifesto, and socialist feminism, given to the students and faculty of the European Graduate School EGS, Switzerland, in 2000. Partial transcript:

Haraway: It’s a great pleasure to be here, this is something I wanted to do and was not able to do last year so I’m very pleased that Wolfgang renewed the invitation. It’s been a lot of fun. The title of the lecture tonight, in honor of my debt to Michel Foucault, is Birth of the Kennel: Cyborgs, Dogs and Companion Species. It is in light of my debts as a child who grew up with the milk of Darwin, Freud, genetically engineered organisms, and transgenic elements such as plutonium. I read this lecture in terms of my family, my sibling set, the milk of my mothers, Darwin, Foucault and Onco-mouse. This is an inquiry into a term that I’m borrowing from Helen Veron, an Australian philosopher of science, who has recently written quite a wonderful book on African logics and science, particularly on number systems among Aruba-speaking schoolchildren. Helen is using the term "emergent ontologies" in ways I’m finding very fruitful for thinking about technoscience and about the kind of figures around which I organize my work. As a person cursed and blessed with a sacramental consciousness and the indelible mark of having grown up Irish-Catholic in the United States, I’m saddled with a kind of indelible understanding that the sign is the thing in itself. An implosion of sign and substance is part of living with a sacramental consciousness, the literalness of metaphor, the materiality of trope, the tropic quality of materiality, the implosion of semi-auticity and materiality always seemed the case about the world. As opposed to a particularly fancy theoretical insight or mistake, it simply seemed the air we breathe. Figuration is something also inherited out of that same tradition, as taking figures to be those who collect up and reflect back the hopes of a people. Figures are about collective yearning. Figurations somehow collect up and give back the sense of the possibility of fulfillment, the possibility of damnation, or the possibility of a collective inclusion in figures larger than that to which they explicitly refer. I borrowed for many years from Herr Auerbach’s work on mimesis, written of course during the conditions of the war without his library, which is itself a wonderful ironic commentary on the commentary on the history of literature. I always felt very indebted to Auerbach’s conception of mimesis and the turn in Western literature and philosophy whereby the figure and referent somehow become confused with each other in a way which has informed the history of our thought for several hundred years, and the difference of that from classical thought, either of Greek or Hebrew varieties. This has informed my genealogy of cyborgs as well as my post-cyborg entities that I’m calling companion species, otherwise known as dogs, in the vernacular. My genealogy includes this appreciation of figuration that I learned out of both literature and philosophy, as well as this history of growing up as a girl in the American Catholic Church. Now for better and for worse I got known for an article from the early eighties called The Cyborg Manifesto, after the Communist Manifesto. It was a joke, in a way. I was given five pages by the Socialist Review, along with a group of other socialist feminists, to write about what we thought the future of socialist feminism would be in the eighties, after the election of a right-wing president and the growing ascendancy of neo-liberalism, signed by Ronald Reagan and Thatcher and many others. The paper exceeded five pages by quite a bit and was loved by the West Coast Socialist Review collective, and hated by the East Coast Socialist Review collective, who really did not ever want to publish it. It’s had a distressing half-life, the cyborg figure, and has been used to mean almost anything about the join between human and machine, in some kind of deeply ahistorical way that I find maddening, so I want to remind me and us about the historical specificity of the cyborg figure, as well as the material project of the cyborg. Let me begin by a slide that’s particularly about this audience, because I’ve discovered that this audience is particularly savvy in computer-mediated communication practices, a lot of people here do film, video, web design, a lot of people here are involved in various kinds of inventing careers in the margins of and in the centers of various kind of commercial operations, interdigitating with academic work and deep philosophical inquiry, people here are inside the material semi-auticity of informatics, including a strong emphasis in visual culture. The first slide is to remind us of the historical specificity of the cyborg figure.

[Slide shows a monkey sitting in a specially designed space-flight cockpit, inundated with various technological apparatuses]

This creature is named Ham, it’s an acronym for Holoman Aeromedical facility, where Ham, a child captive out of Africa, is raised in the space program, specifically as a "surrogate for man in a race for space." Ham is one of the first advanced primates in space, he is telemetrically implanted and otherwise variously hooked-up and monitored entity. He literalizes the cyborg as the enhanced man-for-space project. That is the project for constructing a co-engineered human machine system based on communication, command and control. Ham is a cyborg figure in a very particular World War II and post-World War II, Cold War space-race configuration. The cyborg is not a figure for just any human-machine moment of connection, it’s not a figure for all of technology all of the time, but for a very particular historical moment. 1960 is the birth moment of the word "cyborg", out of a paper written for a U.S. Air Force aviation medicine conference, in which a psychiatrist and a systems engineer collaborate for arguing the importance of physiological enhancement of man in space, and that the next frontier will be space. The same systems engineer and psychiatrist are the very ones used by Marge Percy in her foundational feminist text, Woman on the Edge of Time, written in the 1970’s, that looks back onto the early cyborg research and its experimental organisms, such as human mental patients as well as the other primates. The first telemetrically implanted cyborg, like all of those who have gone before us in the great exploration narratives, is a rat. A telemetrically implanted rat goes first on the great ships of exploration and will colonize the islands of space just as the European rats colonized the Pacific, much to the detriment of flora and fauna all over the world. Those of you who saw the first rat on Star Trek on Deep Space Nine will know something about the symbolism of the rodent in space narrative. The next slide is a 1988 version of the cyborg, now in the domain of neo-liberalism and the New World Order Incorporated.

[Slide shows an advertisement for Dupont featuring a mouse ascending a staircase]

It’s the world in which better things for better living come to life, the world of DuPont. Some of you have read that this is the figure Onco-mouse, which I regard as a re-telling of the allegory of the cave, moving out to the light out of the depths of the cave, out of the hysteria, that we have a kind of enlightenment figure, a techno-science post-Enlightenment figure, perhaps, again we have a surrogate for a particular figuration of what it means to be human, and we have the convergence of the market and the university, and the medical domain of cancer research. This is one of the products of Nixon’s war on cancer. It’s also one of the harbingers of the future of genetically engineered entities. This organism is the first organism in the world where a major nation-state’s patent trademark office patented not the process by which the organism is produced but the organism itself, so that a very interesting statement is made. The self-moving organism itself is property, but this by itself isn’t new, the history of slavery alone is enough to illustrate that, one needn’t go to other species to see it. I think the patent on this organism signals the sense in which the evolutionary niche, the place of the coming-to-being of species is now the join of the market and university. Patent trademark and copyright law was at the foundation of the U.S. constitution. It’s one of the important subjects that Thomas Jefferson paid attention to, the understanding of the attribution of ownership and authorship. What counts as property and what counts as author is understood to be at the origin of liberty, and at the origin of what counts as a citizen. In some sense these mythic narratives which are also merely mundane facts are stories about civic virtue and civic existence. The cyborg stories are always stories about what counts as civic virtue. The next slide is the feminist artist Lynn Randolph’s version of the story of Onco-mouse, written as the passion of Onco-mouse.

[Slide shows Randolph’s depiction of "The Passion of Onco-mouse"]

She has literally taken the sacrifice of the laboratory animal and produced here a Christ figure, who is a white female rat with breasts and a crown of thorns, in a peep-show, a kind of observation chamber, in a modern neo-liberal air pump chamber like the air-pump of the seventeenth century that figures the material, literary and social technologies that establish matters of fact. Onco-mouse is also a figure of the barely secularized salvation narrative of the barely repressed Christian technoscientific narrative. I argue that certainly in the United States technoscientific narrative makes heavy use of Christian salvation narrative materials.

[Slide shows a ceramic coffee cup emblazoned with the logo for the Washington University Technology Center, of a Native American bird-figure consuming a computer chip and DNA helix]

This is a personal coffee cup, which I’ve made it a point of honor to drink from for a few years. It feels like a kind of a reminder of where I am in the world. We have figured on here one of the major trickster figures of North American cultures, the raven figure, a crucial figure in myth systems all over the North American Pacific temperate rainforest climate areas. The trickster figure figures shape-shifting. The power of the trickster is as an intervener in and disturber of the ordinary. Not a particularly nice figure, the trickster is always a figure of danger, of risk-taking, and of course feeding our trickster figure, our indigenous symbol appropriated for leading-edge technology, that particular constant rip-off for the global universal. That oxymoronic global indigene that raven has become. Its nutrients include an integrated circuit and a double helix, the only thing missing is a dollar sign.

[Slide shows a cartoon of a woman on a cloud contemplating the image of a fetus on a computer screen]

This next slide comes out of a Swedish feminist magazine, I call it "the Creation of Adam", and of course so did Michaelanglo, we have a whole series of reversals in this ectopic pregnancy that goes off-screen, literally. We have the female Adam, specifically not Eve reaching her finger to the interface with God, the computer and the keyboard, is the figure of God the fetus, or is that the Eve, that God is embracing, is that God or what? The one thing we know about that fetus is that its fate is not to be born, at best to be downloaded, it’s very likely she"s aiming for the delete key, or perhaps simply editing the file, or any number of operations which certainly do not include birth. The relationship of that fetus to that female body is highly problematic, but we know we are at some moment of touch, from this today forward I hereby predict that you will not move a day through technoscience, that chronotrope in which we now live, without seeing some iconic reproduction of Michaelanglo’s touch of God with Adam. It is everywhere in contemporary technoscientific iconography. There is a small set of images, from Da Vinci, Michaelanglo, and so on, used to figure "genius, science, and me", elements that are used in the remarkable arrogance of technoscientific advertising. Now I’ve just shown you a series of slides I’m not talking about. The slides that you’ve seen up till now fit the cyborg paradigm rather well, in terms of the lineage of offspring from that 1960s moment. The next few slides sort of fit it, but we’re moving into the kennel, and I’m going to be moving us away from cyborg figuration and now I’m into companion species figuration. I want to start it at the cyborg end of things.

[Slide shows an advertisement featuring a terrier wearing an electronic monitor collar]

This is a lovely little Yorkshire terrier, it’s modeling the latest in reproductive technology for the kennel, which is marketed to monitor the pregnancy of a particular kind of dog whose head is too large to permit a so-called natural birth through the birth canal. If the puppies are born through the uterine canal, they will break their necks. There is an obligatory cesarean section for this particular breed of dog, whose recent evolutionary history has regarded selection for traits that don’t permit non-technologically mediated birthing. Now it’s possible to tell the evolution of the dog story in terms of dog-initiated use of human-provided resources, co-extensive with a history of the human species. Dog-wannabe wolves making use of human garbage, human wastes, dumps of various kinds, selecting themselves for shorter and shorter tolerance distances to human encampments, these kinds of stories are widely told these days about evolution of so-called domesticated dogs. Reversing the order of invention, humans didn’t invent dogs, dogs invented themselves and adopted humans as part of their reproductive strategy. The way of telling the technology story is not that technology invades nature once again, but that dogs have scored another coup, and now have appropriated high reproductive technology for their own reproductive strategy. That is of course a generous reading of this device here, which is actually a practice that offends me on many levels. It does permit more than one reading, which is one of the lessons I want to leave with this.

[Slide shows an advertisement for a camera device intended to be used by dog breeders to monitor their animals]
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Meatrix trilogy

2009-08-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

Videos: www.themeatrix.com

A hilarious parallel to the Matrix trilogy, Meatrix is created by Sustainable Table and Free Range Studios. Not sure about the shoot-out part... Do the authors condone violent revolution? Yes, the Matrix employs violence but it's a Hollywood flick meant to entertain, not art meant to provoke questions about assumptions, a deeper examination of issues, or a serious critique.

King Rat directed by Heath Ledger

2009-08-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

Image: Still from King Rat music video

Heath Ledger collaborated with Modest Mouse on King Rat, an animated music video depicting a world where humans get harpooned by whales. The video, produced by The Masses and released in August 2009, is now available at iTunes. The video can also be viewed online at the masses, myspace, offUhuge... Even though the ending could be improved (the video was finished after Ledger's death) and the title is othering, this video is often surprising.

'No shark-fin' cards

2009-06-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for a card to hand to restaurants and found some on Humane Society's page. If designing the card from scratch, I would take out the pledge part (more suitable for Western-style communication) and use one of Rob Stewart's gorgeous shark photos.

For weddings I found this card to explain to the older generation, via browsing a Singapore wedding site where someone posted: i just went to a buffet style wedding and half the people there boycotted the shark fin soup (myself included) so it was even more wasted loh. This postcard is from WildAid. If you need a stack of them email WildAid (Victor Wu, wu@wildaid.org, or whoever is handling it at this time).

If parents object, maybe explain that sharks have the most mercury, since they're top of the food chain and toxins accumulate in their system as they eat other animals. Mercury (from our pollution of oceans) is a neural toxin that damages the brain and nervous system and can cause sterility in men. People who eat seafood regularly already consume too much mercury <www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-05/21/content_444520.htm>. People who're for not eating shark-fin include Yao Ming, Lisa Ling, Ang Lee, Jackie Chan (video PSA's at WildAid), and other people endorsing WildAid are Zhang ZiYi, Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Chow Yuen Fatt, Michelle Yeoh, Joan Chen, Tony Leung, and more. Soup alternatives at these wedding sites in Singapore and Malaysia.

This couple who made their own elegant card for their wedding also has a page to explain it. And yes, you can order their cards or download them.

Background
Each year almost 100 million sharks are killed to make shark's fin soup. Many times a shark is dragged onto a boat and its fins cut off, then tossed back into the ocean while it dies a slow and painful death. This practice is not only cruel but wasteful. (www.sharkwater.com)

Many species of sharks that are caught are friendly. Deborah Peterson wrote, "In testament to how friendly some sharks may be to human advance, yours truly actually braved the shallow waters to hug a shark once ... What I found most surprising was the texture of the shark's skin which was rough to the touch, with a very firm body -- not fat, blubbery or slippery as I had imagined. The shark seemed to take my advance to pick it up without a hint of struggle or fear of humankind, in a sense, showing a trust" (photo of Deborah hugging shark at www.lifeinthefastlane.ca). Photos of a hammerhead shark that's finned below (from www.protect-the-sharks.org).

Many sharks are facing extinction including the hammerhead shark pictured above. Below is a photo of Rob Stewart swimming with reef sharks (www.sharkwater.com).

Here're some cartoons by Mutts:

www.hsus.org/hsi/oceans/sharks/shark_finning/mutts/

about post(human-animal)

2009-05-13T19:38:00.001-07:00

'Human-animal' is a term used by theorists such as Carol J. Adams instead of 'human' to counter the anthropocentric concept of the (non human-animal)/(human-animal) boundary. Here 'post' is used, as in posthumanist criticism, to refer to an understanding of the world through context and heterogeneous perspectives.