Shark fin sales banned in Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has signed into law a ban on selling shark fins.

The Democrat signed the legislation Monday.

The law takes effect in January and makes it a crime in Rhode Island to own or sell a shark fin unless it’s used for scientific research or in preparing a shark for ordinary consumption.

Rhode Island will become the 11th state to ban the sale of shark fins.

Hawaii was the first in 2010. Massachusetts has also banned it.

Shark fin soup is popular in Chinese cuisine but animal rights activists say the practice of slicing off a shark’s fin and leaving the fish to die is cruel.

The Humane Society of the United States says the laws will help global shark populations recover.