An artist in Hong Kong is using shock tactics to highlight a campaign to urge the government to ban shark fin soup.
Alice Newstead had her skin pierced with hooks, and was hung suspended from scaffolding in an arts centre courtyard to demonstrate how sharks are caught on long-lines to be killed for their fins.
The ‘installation’ lasted 20 minutes and was a joint effort by British cosmetics company Lush and marine conservation group Shark Savers.
Newstead said: "The ones that I used today are actually shark hooks that have had the barbs removed and have been sterilised. And I feel shark finning is a really barbaric practice. If it takes doing something a bit drastic to get people to notice it, then it's absolutely worth it.”
Lush and Shark Savers are urging the public in Hong Kong – which is said to have the biggest shark fin consumption per capita - to sign postcards to the Hong Kong government, urging it to ban shark fin consumption, trade and sales in the city.
Jonn Lu director of Shark Savers Hong Kong is quoted: "(It's to) up the ante and to call attention to this again - that something needs to be done at a state level, that there needs to be local enforcement for us to solve this problem"
Lush have also created "Shark Fin Soap" made of seaweed and sea salt to raise money for the cause.
You can see a video of the protest below:
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