Shark Cull | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Shark Cull

Thylacines, Wedge-tailed eagles, Sharks. Jeez we're a bunch of dumb bastards. We should be having a cull of politicians with an IQ below about 140, they're plenty dangerous. ::)
 
WesternTiger said:
That one is easy. Like the great white croc populations were pushed to the edge of local extinction in Northern Australia so yes I am sure it was a lot safer to swim in billabongs in the 60s and 70s.

Croc numbers have well and truly recovered in the top end. Nowhere near endangered.
 
Apparently some pretty disturbing footage of a shark being killed was filmed by Channel 7 today.

Hopefully it sees the light of day.

Took two shots to the head to kill it.
 
So if I'm bush walking and get bitten by a spider or snake - and die as a result, we won't hear stories of culling snakes, or white tail spiders.

Am I missing something in this analogy?
 
lukeanddad said:
So if I'm bush walking and get bitten by a spider or snake - and die as a result, we won't hear stories of culling snakes, or white tail spiders.

Am I missing something in this analogy?

It's an emotive subject. Jaws did sharks no favours.
 
Going in waters renowned for sharks and where there have been white pointer sightings all week is like playing Russian Roulette. I hope the shark doesn't pay the ultimate price.
 
rosy23 said:
Going in waters renowned for sharks and where there have been white pointer sightings all week is like playing Russian Roulette. I hope the shark doesn't pay the ultimate price.

Yep. Unfortunate for the person and their family but they know the risk.
 
"All species have a survival technique, whether it's speed or size or coloration. Ours is intelligence. What's incredible in this story is that we're using intelligence to protect a species that is killing us."

- Guy Gazzo

Heart of sharkness
 
LeeToRainesToRoach said:
"All species have a survival technique, whether it's speed or size or coloration. Ours is intelligence. What's incredible in this story is that we're using intelligence to protect a species that is killing us."

- Guy Gazzo

Heart of sharkness

Protecting sharks? Now I've heard it all, 100 million sharks are killed every year, and 5 humans are killed by sharks. That's one human for every 20 million sharks, I hardly call that a threat to civilisation.
 
bullus_hit said:
Protecting sharks? Now I've heard it all, 100 million sharks are killed every year, and 5 humans are killed by sharks. That's one human for every 20 million sharks, I hardly call that a threat to civilisation.

It gets back to the question of what is acceptable risk. The WA and Réunion problems are intriguing because it's impossible to ascertain basic facts, such as how plentiful the man-eating species are. Some would have us simply abandon the beaches to the sharks. The quote above illustrates that there are considered opinions other than "no shark must be harmed in the name of human safety".

The water and I have never been good friends; it doesn't affect me at all. But as a nature lover at heart, the last thing I want is to see species exterminated, or pushed close.

They began culling in Réunion in the middle of last year. The WA government may have been influenced by this, or even sought advice from the authorities there. One of the difficulties when tourism's at stake is that these things are discussed in whispers.
 
LeeToRainesToRoach said:
It gets back to the question of what is acceptable risk. The WA and Réunion problems are intriguing because it's impossible to ascertain basic facts, such as how plentiful the man-eating species are. Some would have us simply abandon the beaches to the sharks. The quote above illustrates that there are considered opinions other than "no shark must be harmed in the name of human safety".

The water and I have never been good friends; it doesn't affect me at all. But as a nature lover at heart, the last thing I want is to see species exterminated, or pushed close.

They began culling in Réunion in the middle of last year. The WA government may have been influenced by this, or even sought advice from the authorities there. One of the difficulties when tourism's at stake is that these things are discussed in whispers.

So what's the end game here? Shoot all the 3 metre sharks in the head until there's none left? Surely there's a better solution, people need to realise that the water can be a dangerous place, more people die from drowning, jelly fish stings and stepping on stone fish. As for the impact on tourism, I would guess that baiting and shooting Great Whites, Tiger Sharks & Bull Sharks isn't the best advertisement for beach goers and nature lovers. Fortunately 80% of the Australian population can see the idiocy in these supposed culls.
 
bullus_hit said:
As for the impact on tourism, I would guess that baiting and shooting Great Whites, Tiger Sharks & Bull Sharks isn't the best advertisement for beach goers and nature lovers. Fortunately 80% of the Australian population can see the idiocy in these supposed culls.

Drum lines have been used on the east coast for 50 years and have reduced the incidence of attacks there; it's just not flavour of the month and therefore not spoken about.

Doubt the figure is as high as 80%, but I'm not in a position to challenge it.

PS I notice you listed bull sharks last, being the species with the fewest redeeming qualities. :)
 
LeeToRainesToRoach said:
Drum lines have been used on the east coast for 50 years and have reduced the incidence of attacks there; it's just not flavour of the month and therefore not spoken about.

Doubt the figure is as high as 80%, but I'm not in a position to challenge it.

PS I notice you listed bull sharks last, being the species with the fewest redeeming qualities. :)

The 80% figure was taken from a survey which was published in the Daily Telegraph, I'm not sure why this is a surprising figure considering the culling has neither been supported by marine experts nor has the universal support of shark attack victims themselves. Most surfers and beach lovers that I have spoken to are appalled by the principle and the methods being used. These animals are predators and that is the very reason they have survived for millions of years. To pass judgement on a bull shark for being aggressive is a bit rich in my opinion, they are what they are, and they should be entitled to hunt in their own natural habitat.
 
bullus_hit said:
The 80% figure was taken from a survey which was published in the Daily Telegraph, I'm not sure why this is a surprising figure considering the culling has neither been supported by marine experts nor has the universal support of shark attack victims themselves. Most surfers and beach lovers that I have spoken to are appalled by the principle and the methods being used. These animals are predators and that is the very reason they have survived for millions of years. To pass judgement on a bull shark for being aggressive is a bit rich in my opinion, they are what they are, and they should be entitled to hunt in their own natural habitat.

They don't have the aesthetic virtues of some other species, and that's what many people base their opinions on. Indiscriminate dun-coloured beady-eyed buggers that they are...

Not sure whether you read the article I linked to earlier. Well written, albeit with a "green" bias. It quotes a local surfer on bull sharks (uttered no doubt with a French accent): "The sharks, they taste the men, and they learn to eat them." Such behaviour is not tolerated in any other species. Dogs that kill are put down; likewise lions, tigers, bears and others. The problem with sharks is that killers are difficult to trace. I don't have a problem with a few prospective maneaters being taken out of circulation to make the beaches safer, as long as the species' survival isn't being threatened.