Leonardo DiCaprio Celebrates Step Toward NYS Shark Fin Ban

The current article you are reading does not reflect the views of the current editors and contributors of the new Ecorazzi

Looks like Leonardo DiCaprio may have another reason to applaud today as the bill to ban the shark fin trade in New York State has passed through the state’s Senate Environmental Conservation Committee. While shark finning itself is already illegal in the states, legislation such as that which bill S.6431 could become have the potential to discourage finning in other countries, helping us become accountable on a global scale.

DiCaprio isn’t alone in his happiness or his crusade; vegetarian pop star Ke$ha recently released an advocacy video as part of her ambassadorship with Humane Society International. In it, the singer emphasizes that ten million sharks are killed yearly for their fins alone.

Ke$ha’s visuals could be exactly what the campaign needs: we may be used to imagining sharks solely as fins floating above the water, but DiCaprio and Ke$ha encourage us to remember that the fin is not a thing unto itself but rather part of a whole, living creature – and a whole, living eco system. Who better but celebrities, whole people often confused with the tip of their images, to speak for the sharks?

Check out Ke$ha’s video below.

cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com