Posted 02 December 2012 - 08:21 PM
There is an important distinction between hunting animals and animal husbandry/farming of animals, IMO.
Hunting animals generally involves killing them in their native habitat. I'm not sure why human ethics come into this - all animals in natural ecosystems live their lives as dictated by their fitness, environment, and random chance. Death, pain, injury, misery, and freedom are all parts of the natural world. IMO, sustainability and ecological integrity should generally determine the appropriateness of hunting practices.
I don't believe shark-finning to be ecologically responsible or culturally redeeming in any significant way, and would support a ban. I don't have any issue with causing pain or injury to sharks - after all, these are predator fish that can, and do, dismember or transect other animals (or swallow them whole) as part of their daily routine.
Farming involves raising animals in captivity, sometimes far from their native habitat, sometimes in a highly engineered facility. Sustainability is not usually as much of a factor (except in the very important interactions with ecosystems surrounding the facility, as in the case of fish farms or ranches). There are, I believe, important ethical considerations related to farming, and I agree with the concerns about chicken farms and such.