Western Australia Slaughtering Great Whites, Tiger and Bull Sharks in “Catch and Kill” Policy

Great Whites are listed as VULNERABLE in Australia and are also protected by the International Convention of Migratory Species but Western Australia did an end run around those protections. Sound familiar wolf warriors?

We’re not the only brutes in the world killing predators. Western Australia has adopted a “Catch and Kill” policy to slay Great Whites, Tiger and Bull sharks, over 3 cm in length, in some crazy scheme to “safeguard beachgoers”. I’m sure the 3cm or under sharks will automatically know not to get hooked by a drumline. What the hell? All this because shark attacks increased from 1 per year to 2-3 in all of Western Australia,   from 2010-2013.  That’s how the WA government is justifying this outrageous scheme?  Hey, here’s an idea,  if  there are sharks in the water, stay out!  Does the ocean belong to humans? Are sharks not allowed to live in their home because humans like to splash around in the surf? Besides, baking in the sun at the beach causes premature aging of the skin, staying away will keep the wrinkles at bay.

“ENVIRONMENTAL activists warned public anger is building over Western Australia’s catch-and-kill shark policy which snared a large shark in the state’s southwest at the weekend just hours after baited drumlines were set.

A contracted fisherman pulled a shark more than 3m long from a drumline off Meelup Beach shortly after 7am yesterday.t

The shark was then shot in its head up to four times and towed out to sea where it was dumped.

Early reports indicated it was a tiger shark but late yesterday The Australian was told it was believed to have been a bull shark.”….The Australian

 Sharks are apex predators, vital to healthy oceans but we’re losing them. 100 million sharks are  killed each year and most of the slaughter is directly linked to  finning. The sharks are caught, their fins cut off and then they’re  thrown back in the ocean to suffer and die. And all this to feed the “shark fin soup“> demand.

“100 million sharks are killed each year-by longlines, by “sport” fishermen, or by a barbaric practice known as shark finning. Hooked sharks are hauled onto boats; their fins are sliced off while they are still alive. These helpless animals are then tossed back into the ocean where, unable to swim without their fins, they sink towards the bottom and die an agonizing death.”…Sea Shepherd

Sharks are under tremendous pressure just to exist. Now the WA government is making it even harder for them? You can add Western Australia to your “do not visit” list!

If they’re trying to increase tourism there by slaughtering sharks, then they’ve made a huge miscalculation. Boycott Western Australia until they stop their “Catch and Kill” shark policy.

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Contact Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt in Western Australia. He authorized this slaughter. Tell him killing sharks isn’t going to entice tourists to Western Australia but quite the opposite.

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Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt

Phone: (02) 6277 2276 or (03) 5979 3188
Email: Greg.Hunt.MP@aph.gov.au

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Environment Minister allows Western Australia to kill sharks to protect swimmers

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/environment-minister-allows-western-australia–to-kill-sharks-to-protect-swimmers-20140122-317ky.html#ixzz2s0lI3ayB

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Sharks caught hours after WA drumlines set

Shark supporters were given more ammunition against Western Australia’s controversial catch-and-kill policy, after undersized sharks were hooked and released within hours of baited drumlines being set off Perth beaches.

Using large hooks that the state government said would not catch smaller sharks, Fisheries officers placed bait off five of Perth’s busiest beaches at Friday’s first light.

Read more: http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/21190639/richard-branson-lashes-wa-shark-killing/

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Tiger Shark Shot and Dumped at Sea as Cull Begins in Western Australia

The policy is opposed by scientists, conservationists and a majority of Australian voters

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tiger-shark-shot-and-dumped-at-sea-as-cull-begins-in-western-australia/

Tiger Shark – juvenile Bahamas

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Photos: Courtesy Wikipedia Commons

Video: Courtesy You Tube

Posted in: Activism, Biodiversity, Action Alert, Animal Cruelty

Tags: Great White Shark, Tiger Shark, Bull Shark, shark slaughter, Western Australia, international protest over shark killing, speak out for sharks, Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt, stop killing sharks in Western Australia