Earlier this week we reported on the row between Lord Antony Rufus-Issacs and Sir David Tang, owner of China Tang at The Dorchester Hotel, over the sale of shark fin soup by the restaurant.

• The End of the Line’s Hannah Gallagher on why sharks belongs in the sea, not in soup

The End of the Line started a campaign to ask China Tang not to serve shark fin soup, which proved to be short-lived as Sir David agreed not to serve the soup at the London restaurant following pressure from environment groups.

However, Sir David has come under renewed attack after it became clear that shark fin soup remains on the menu of Island Tang, the Hong Kong restaurant that he also runs. Continue reading ‘The End of the Line renews call to Sir David Tang to end sale of shark fin soup’

The makers of The End of the Line met with Downing Street officials this morning to outline their campaign, as news of further successes inspired by the film came to light.

Earlier this week The End of the Line launched a campaign to ask China Tang, the restaurant at The Dorchester run by Sir David Tang, not to serve shark fin soup.

We can now report that Sir David has said the restaurant will not be serving the soup.

Conservationist Lord Antony Rufus-Issacs had said that when he ate at China Tang he was offered shark fin soup - which was not on the menu. Having been inspired by The End of the Line, Lord Antony wrote to Sir David to protest.

There followed an angry email exchange between the two which led to a story in Richard Kay’s column in the Daily Mail and the launch of our short-lived, but successful, campaign.

The other piece of good news this week was for bluefin tuna, following the Netherlands’ announcement yesterday that it was backing proposals by Monaco to add the Atlantic bluefin to Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

This came after France and Britain supported the global trade ban on the fish, late last week.

More news on the outcome of The End of the Line’s visit to Downing Street will follow in the coming days and weeks.

• Bluefin tuna update, 23rd July: Germary has announced that it is supporting the addition of Atlantic bluefin tuna to Appendix I of CITES

• Following the news that China Tang will not be serving shark fin soup, we have stop collecting names to send to the restaurant. You can read our latest news here.

China Tang, the restaurant located in The Dorchester hotel run by Sir David Tang, has come under fire for allegedly selling shark fin soup.

Conservationist and film maker Lord Antony Rufus-Issacs says that he was offered the soup, which was not on the menu, when he dined at the restaurant last week. He has written to Sir David asking him to stop serving shark fin soup, after seeing The End of the Line.

In his letter, he said: “I have seen the film [The] End on the Line and was deeply effected [sic] by it as were so many people. I am writing to you as a result of seeing the film.”

China Tang has subsequently claimed that this was a ‘mistake’ by staff, and that they took shark fin soup off the menu months ago due to ethical concerns.

Shark fin soup is contentious as the fins are often ‘harvested’ by cutting the fins off live sharks that are then thrown back into the sea to bleed to death.

Shark fin soup is traditionally eaten on special occasions, such as weddings, in Chinese society. It is regarded as a status symbol due to the cost of the fins and has to be flavoured with stock as the fins themselves have little or no taste.

The End of the Line campaign abhors the practice of shark-finning and calls on China Tang to not serve the soup. We have compiled an email to send to China Tang, expressing your concern and asking them not to sell it.

You can view our protest over shark fin soup here.