About 500,000 sharks could die in order to supply the world with a COVID-19 vaccine, a nonprofit organization says.
Shark Allies, a nonprofit that raises awareness about shark conservation, is warning that sharks could be in danger because an ingredient in their livers could be used for a coronavirus vaccine.
A shark’s liver contains oil that’s made up of a compound called squalene.
Squalene is used to moisturize and can be found in skin creams and lip balms, but is also used in vaccines to create an immune response.
The compound has been used in flu vaccines in the U.S. since 2016 and has an “excellent safety record,” according to the CDC.
Shark Allies says sharks wouldn’t be able to recover if the oil was extracted and suggests using non-animal alternatives, like yeast, bacteria, sugarcane, and olive oil.
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And while squalene can be found in plants and humans, it’s more expensive and takes longer to extract.
“Using sharks in COVID-19 vaccines is short-sighted, unpredictable, and unsustainable. There are better alternatives,” Shark Allies wrote in a petition. “From a conservation perspective, there is no doubt that the overexploitation of a key component of the marine environment will have dire consequences. On a practical level, using such a finite resource for a product that will have to be made for billions of people, continuously for years to come, is impractical.”
The petition has more than 13,000 signatures.
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