Long Island Cares Inc.--The Harry Chapin Food Bank, said it will no longer accept the 6,000 pounds of Shark meat it has received annually from Long Island Shark tournaments.
"We made a decision not to be a beneficiary [of the donated meat] because of the potential risk to women and children and the potentially inhumane way in capturing these fish. So we believe we are doing the right thing," said Paule Pachter, executive director of the Hauppauge-based, non-profit anti-hunger organization.
[Source]
This is a big deal because some Shark fishing tournaments have long been hiding behind food bank charity giving as a defense to justify their decadent and cruel bloodsport. While Shark fishing tournaments are not the biggest killer of Sharks, so many of the species targeted by Shark tournaments are critically endangered--particularly Mako, Probeagle, Thresher, and Blue Sharks. This is not Shark killing on a commercial scale, but it is still completely unnecessary Shark killing.
On the "people" level, the largest recipients of the donated Shark meat from food banks are pregnant women and children. Pregnant women and children are precisely the populations at risk of mercury poisoning from eating Shark meat. Large Shark fishing tournaments often give out hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money. If the organizers of these tournaments were so concerned with feeding the poor they wouldn't need to kill Sharks to do it.
People in the know tell me that contrary to Mr. Donlon's
Actually, it appears that they have already turned it down last year!
"Thrilled" my ass!
But of course, Real Men (and their wives!) know that when it comes to killing, a little bending of the truth is perfectly acceptable and should never be an excuse for not doing the right thing! And let there be no doubt that Jack is a Real Man!
E-mail is Sharkchallenge@aol.com and Sharkchallenge@aim.com.
I'm sure he's gonna be delighted at receiving some fan mail!
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