Call for Action: Shark Cull Poses Threat to Marinelife

A Commentary by Nicole McLachlan, Shark Coordinator, Sea Shepherd Australia

FITZROY, VIC December 28, 2013 – "On the morning of the 23rd of November on Australia’s South-West coast, Chris Boyd ventured out for a surf in the small town of Gracetown, WA. At 0905am on that Saturday morning, Chris was involved in a shark accident. An unidentified species of shark approached and investigated Chris, mistaking him for another creature, and upon sustaining an extensive injury to the arm, Chris passed away due to his injuries. Injuries caused by the bite of a predator on the hunt for seals, large fish, birds, sea turtles, not humans. We would of course like to extend our sincere heartfelt condolences to Chris’ family as of course it was a tragic accident.

As though reacting on a fear based auto-pilot, politicians within the Western Australian state government were quick to announce an ‘imminent threat order’, an effort to track down and kill the shark responsible for the accident. However, it was ignored that it is impossible to find any animal that no one ever actually identified with any clarity to begin with. Upon an uproar of public pressure, the WA government moved to cease the kill order, the decision was made to call off the kill order after unsuccessful attempts at locating and killing any large shark they could find."