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HK Disneyland draws fire over soup
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-24 08:48
Environmentalists urged Hong Kong Disneyland on Monday not to serve shark fin
soup when the park opens in September, but Disney officials said they planned to
offer the dish at special banquets in accordance with local customs.
Don Robinson (R),
Hong Kong Disneyland Group managing director and Hong Kong Financial
Secretary Henry Tang (2nd L) celebrate with Mickey Mouse during a news
conference to announce the opening date of the Hong Kong Disneyland. The
Hong Kong government earlier said the entertainment park will employ 5,000
workers which should ease the territory's high umemployment rate of 6.8
percent. [Reuters] |
Greenpeace and the
Worldwide Fund for Nature have asked Hong Kong Disneyland to take shark fin soup
off the menu after the theme park announced last week the delicacy would be
served at wedding banquets and other special events at the park.
Environmentalists say millions of sharks are killed each year for their fins,
driving many species close to extinction. The fins are hacked off and the fish
are dumped back into the sea to die.
"It's a hugely wasteful practice," said Greenpeace spokesman Martin Baker.
"We were incredulous when we heard that Disney would be serving shark fin soup."
Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman Irene Chan said: "Hong Kong Disneyland takes
environmental stewardship very seriously, and we are equally sensitive to local
cultures. It is customary for Chinese restaurants and five-star hotels to serve
shark's fin soup in Hong Kong as the dish is considered an integral part of
Chinese banquets."
Another Disneyland spokeswoman, Esther Wong, stressed that shark fin soup
would only be served when customers requested it at special banquets.
"The whole point is being respectful to local cultures," Wong said. "It is
what the locals see as appropriate."
Another Hong Kong environmentalist, Brian Darvell of the South China Diving
Club, said: "The very fact it is traditional does not make it right. It's
mind-boggling that Disney could be so inconsistent with their environmental line
and go on with defending its decision."
Baker said: "How can the same company that produced Finding Nemo — with its
message that marine life is under threat — at the same time support a trade that
is unsustainable, wasteful and cruel."
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