However, the new study indicates the issue extends beyond the United States. For instance, a 2019 study found that pet food products sold in the United States contained endangered shortfin mako sharks ( Isurus oxyrinchus), and that some cosmetics used parts of critically endangered scalloped hammerheads ( Sphyrna lewini), blue sharks and blacktip sharks ( Carcharhinus limbatus). “It is likely that many pet owners who are broadly interested in conservation, or more specifically in the protection of sharks, are unaware that they may be inadvertently feeding endangered species of sharks to their pets,” the authors write.Ĭo-author Ben Wainwright said this study confirms what other studies have found about pet food containing shark meat. Image by Mark Conlin/NMFS via WIkimedia Commons (public domain). Leading brands such as Fancy Feast, Whiskas, and Sheba were among those found to contain shark meat, including CITES-protected silky sharks. Instead, they used generic terms like “ocean fish,” “white fish” and “white bait,” the researchers said.
However, none of the cat food products were accurately labeled as containing shark meat. Silky sharks are also protected under CITES Appendix II, which regulates trade through a set of conditions. The other species discovered in the products were silky sharks ( Carcharhinus falciformis) and whitetip reef sharks ( Triaenodon obesus), both of which are listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN, the global conservation authority. The most common shark found in cat food was the blue shark ( Prionace glauca), a species that isn’t protected under CITES, the international convention on the wildlife trade, but that research suggests is overexploited. They found that 31% of the samples contained shark meat. Researchers from the National University of Singapore used DNA barcoding technology to analyze 144 samples from 45 cat food products that were produced by 16 different brands in Thailand and sold in Singapore. Shark meat from vulnerable species is being processed into cat food for major brands, according to a new study. Global shark populations are in sharp decline, mainly due to destructive fishing practices.None of these cat food products were accurately labeled to show that they contained sharks.Leading brands such as Fancy Feast, Whiskas, and Sheba were amongst those found to contain silky sharks and other species.Researchers used DNA barcoding to find that cat food sold in Singapore from at least 16 different brands contained threatened species of sharks, including silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis) that are protected under CITES Appendix II.
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