Canada: New Westminster bans sale of shark fins

The New Westminster city council gave final adoption to the Shark Fin Regulation Bylaw No. 7564,2012.
This bylaw, which was approved by an unanimous vote last Monday (Dec. 10th), prohibits the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins within the city. Any violators will be given a fine of up to $10,000.

New Westminster is located at the centre of Metro Vancouver on the banks of the Fraser River in British Columbia.
It is just a very small community with about 27,000 households and a population of less than 60,000.

A short time ago, a similar ban was struck down in Toronto (see here), which is the capital of Ontario province and the largest city in Canada with a population of over 2.5 million people. It’s likely that this Ontario Superior Court’s ruling would be cited as case law if a similar appeal occurs in British Columbia.

In the United States, a court is currently deciding on the legality of the shark fin ban in California (see here).

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City of New Westminster – Shark Fin Regulation Bylaw No. 7564,2012