Wildlife

Killing Sharks Prompts Australian Outrage

Environmental and wildlife advocates slammed Western Australia’s move to begin killing sharks along the Indian Ocean coast at the southwest tip of the country in the wake of seven fatal shark attacks within the past three years.

The cull comes as marine biologists around the world warn that some shark species are becoming endangered due to overfishing and mutilation for their fins.

The Western Australia government allowed contract fishermen to place baited hooks on drum lines off popular beaches in the state capital of Perth and to the south to kill white, bull and tiger sharks over 10 feet long.

The first shark killed was shot and its carcass dumped at sea.

A new poll by the leading UMR research company finds that 82 percent of Australians don’t think the sharks should be killed and say people enter the water at their own risk.

But Western Australia’s leading politician doesn’t agree.

“When you have sharks that are three, four, five metres long of known aggressive varieties, swimming in the water very close to beachgoers, that is an imminent danger,” said Premier Colin Barnett.

Activists have pledged to interfere with the killings with tactics like removing bait from the drum lines.