Shark meat found in pet food

Consumers in South-East Asia are unwittingly feeding endangered sharks to their cats and dogs due to poor labelling

- Simon Birch

A STUDY HAS FOUND THAT SOME pet foods contain meat from endangered sharks.

Inspired by a 2019 US study that found shark meat in pet food, scientists investigated whether there was shark DNA in 45 pet food products from 116 brands on sale in Singapore. Of the 144 samples taken, 31 per cent contained shark DNA, most of which came from blue, silky and whitetip reef sharks.

The populations of the silky shark and the whitetip reef shark are listed as vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.