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'Shark After Dark' Host Eli Roth Denounces The 'Disgusting' Killing Of Sharks For Soup

The World's Shark Population Is 'Decimated' Thanks To This Soup
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By 

Senior Editor, HuffPost Live

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Eli Roth is a master of blood and gore when it comes to directing horror on the big screen, but his experience with sharks has been quite the opposite. In fact, the host of "Shark After Dark," Discovery Channel's Shark Week late-night talk show, said he's found that the animals we usually see portrayed as ferocious beasts are actually more like puppies.

That's why he's so upset by the way humans treat sharks in the wild. Roth explained to HuffPost Live's Josh Zepps on Wednesday that in his interviews with shark specialists, he found that people hurt sharks a lot more than sharks hurt them.

"Humans have decimated the shark supply. Think about this: There are probably five people annually in the entire planet that die from sharks. Humans kill 100 million sharks annually, and you know what for? Shark fin soup," Roth said. "It's disgusting. They call it fish fin soup, but it's shark fin soup. And boots -- cowboy boots. That's what we're using the sharks for. So in the last 20 years, nine-tenths of the ocean's shark population has been killed by humans, and we're turning them into soup when the function of sharks is to actually keep the ocean healthy."

Watch Roth discuss the importance of shark conservation in the video above, and click here for his full HuffPost Live conversation.

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Before You Go

5 Ways To Take Action During Shark Week
Put Great White Sharks On Endangered Species List(01 of05)
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Sharks have been around for more than 400 million years, yet great whites are now disappearing at an alarming rate. According to Oceana, an ocean conservation organization, there may be only a few hundred left off the coast of California and Mexico. You can help by petitioning to get the great white shark listed under the Endangered Species Act here. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr:" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="60fe8653e4b06971f4099b73" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="12" data-vars-position-in-unit="17">Flickr:</a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/loop_oh/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name=" loop_oh" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="60fe8653e4b06971f4099b73" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/people/loop_oh/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="13" data-vars-position-in-unit="18"> loop_oh</a>)
Protest Shark Fin Soup(02 of05)
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Up to 73 million sharks are killed each year for their fins, a cruel practice that a group of shark attack survivors is determined to stop. After studying 32 shark fin soups across the country, they found that 81 percent contained fins from vulnerable, threatened or endangered shark species, according to Reuters. While the menu item is considered a delicacy, de-finnning a shark increases their chances of drowning or bleeding to death, according to Living Green Magazine. Take the Humane Society's "no shark fin" pledge here. (credit:AP)
Join The Shark Week Facebook, Twitter Campaign(03 of05)
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To make sure you make some loud and lasting noise on Twitter and Facebook, join the Shark Week thunderclap. This crowdspeaking platform will blast out each supporter's message about protecting sharks from extinction all at once, flash-mob style. Find out how you can get involved here. (credit:ShutterStock)
Get Informed(04 of05)
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Fall in love with the great white shark -- and your mission to save them -- all over again when you take a dip into some of their most intimate moments. You'll find out where they summer, mate and give birth (among other fascinating secrets!) when you watch the Discovery Channel's "Great White Highway" on Thursday. (credit:Facebook)
Support Shark Activists(05 of05)
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Consider offering a hand, or some funds, to the activism groups that are doing the most good to keep sharks safe. Shark Savers is committed to ending the practice of shark finning, improving the images of sharks and raising awareness about the threats they face. The International Fund for Animal Warfare works to save individual animals, animal populations and habitats around the world and the Environmental Investigation Agency fights environmental crime. (credit:Alamy)
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