Guess what happened to the Fujian whale shark?

After being “accidentally” nabbed by a Fujian fisherman yesterday, this gentle, endangered giant was butchered and auctioned off at charity prices because “threatened species” laws are apparently about as enforced as “no-smoking” ones. May the guilty parties be reincarnated as plankton and “baleened” to death.

Fishermen rip into the carcass like it’s a fleshy piñata.
Fortunately, while there isn’t a Disney ending to this particular story, the global shark fin trade is on the decline, having dropped a whopping 90% in Hong Kong. And various shark’s species are staging a comeback, thanks in part to Xi Jinping’s anti-extravagance campaign.
Unfortunately, not before Fujianers whipped up what was probably the world’s largest bowl of shark’s fin soup.

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