west australia's slaughter of sharks

[dvickery]

to bad sharks arent "cute" ... in canada deer kill more people every year than all the predators combined ... yet nobody cries out for the wholesale slaughter of bambi .

derrek

[LordAnubis]

Yes the west aussies do not approve. There was a protest at one of the beaches, 4000 people turned up.

[Fuzz]

I have no problems with sharks and feel perfectly safe at the beach.. Sharks prefer Caucasians... the other white meat!

I'm much happier reading Lotusguy's statement about foie gras being banned (at least in California anyway). I truly hate the horror these poor geese and ducks are put through force feeding them, and then exploding their livers. Horrible...Horrible.

They do the same to fatten ducks for Peking Duck. Force fed a high protein, high fat diet to promote fast growth and plumpness.

[ned]

it is abhorrent. i emailed the minster for the environment to let him know what i feel about it. it doesn't seem that anyone outside of a small cadre of politicians seems to really be in support of it. i think it nothing more than a "hey look we are doing something to protect innocent people from these horrible animals"

if you dont want to run the risk of being bitten dont go in the ocean, or go in one of those places that have the big completely fenced in swimming areas.

maybe the government would be better off to invest in some signage to tell people what to do or what they cant do. the government loves doing that and i think this would be a great instance that they could.

drum lines, nets are again nothing more than a look to make it seem like so much is being done. and in the process a lot of other animals are killed in the nets and on the hooks.

in the end sharks are a pretty phantom threat but a very easy target. the cull needs to end immediately as to all these other so called measures to stop the sharks.

sharks are a beautiful majestic animal and it is sickening to see them being treated in such a manner by a bunch of misguided and ignorant politicians.

and i thought this was a bit interesting. http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/events/department-news/1195/forget-sharks-cows-are-more-likely-to-kill-you/

[Duxnutz]

Sadly it seems Australia is jumping overboard on a lot of issues lately. Definitely opposed to killing sharks, surely in this day and age we have technology to deter them in a more environmentally sound manner.

Just saw tonight: In Hawaii they had an organized culling of sharks that netted 5000+ sharks killed over a decade or so and had nil effect on shark attacks.

[westg]

Part of me would like to have no sharks at all . I have had 20 plus dives here this summer and we are right in the middle of the zone where the shark fatalities have taken place. I respect the fact that when we enter the water there are certain risks involved. Killing them is not the right thing to do so I am against it. The drum lines are just a dumb move from a bunch of single minded Xuck wits which will have very little if any effect.

[Nino]

It's not as if the sharks are coming on land with AK47's and going on a killing rampage.

We are entering their kingdom and we must respect that.

Allan

This ^

I spent a lot of time back in the eighties in Bali and Lombok/Indonesia and one of the most cruel sights I had was in the fishing villages I visited - there were the hunted turtles, their flaps held tight with wire.

All for meat, soup, combs and frames for glasses ..

Sick.

[stargazer14]

I think the the whole concept of this cull is to make some people feel better, it will do little to lessen the number of sharks and may attract even more. However the kill is nothing compared to what is happening in China... http://world.time.com/2014/01/28/exposed-the-worlds-biggest-slaughter-of-an-endangered-species/#ixzz2rgBwq5nP

[cigcars]

not that i would ever want to be seen on the side of the butchers but i once saw a video from a farm in strasbourg, i think, - home of the great foie gras. they chock feed these geese daily. what was interesting was as soon as it was feeding time, the geese came from everywhere and fought over the food. there was nothing cruel about it at all (what may happen later may not have been pretty but then not sure any abattoir is a work of art). they couldn't get enough.

Were these the SAME geese that were choke fed from earlier? And if so, once digested and it's overnite I'm sure that at feeding time they're NORMALLY hungry again. But once full to keep having food forced down your full stomach is TORMENT. I've seen the photos of these ducks and geese. It's truly heartbreaking seeing the expressions on their faces - of true MISERY. Everything gets hungry and wants their food - again normally. But when full I just can't see being pumped and pumped and pumped until the innards EXPLODE. Again - HORRIBLE.

[Orion21]

It's disgusting knee jerk tactics from idiot politicians looking to make people feel better. It won't help and will hurt the ecosystem. The problem is a real solution tales time and money, not acceptable for politicians needing to provide immediate gratification.

[Colt45]

too many humans.......

[OkieJoe]

I guess im the statistical outlier bc I love sharks....with seven spice and lemon juice

[Ken Gargett]

Were these the SAME geese that were choke fed from earlier? And if so, once digested and it's overnite I'm sure that at feeding time they're NORMALLY hungry again. But once full to keep having food forced down your full stomach is TORMENT. I've seen the photos of these ducks and geese. It's truly heartbreaking seeing the expressions on their faces - of true MISERY. Everything gets hungry and wants their food - again normally. But when full I just can't see being pumped and pumped and pumped until the innards EXPLODE. Again - HORRIBLE.

i'm just telling you what i saw. the film crew had put a camera in the pen in the feeding area. the geese came running at feeding time and they were the ones opening their gullets so as the feed could just pour in. there was no one grabbing them, no one holding them down. they were keen. so yes, they were the SAME geese. if there was any TORMENT, they were doing it to themselves. perhaps the farmers were taking advantage of this but i'm just telling you what i saw.

i'm not saying this is what happens everywhere but it was happening at this farm. perhaps they have a higher standard than others. there may be others more HORRIBLE but i can't and i am not commenting on that.

the one issue i do have with your comments is "MISERY" on the face of a goose? this is hardly fairy tale time. do they have little names and costumes?

[MIKA27]

I don't agree in killing Sharks whatsoever - As often it has already been said here, the Water is their domain so why kill a creature who dwells in it? The same can be said about crocodiles etc...

I do believe in safety nets to protect swimmers but wonder how dependable these are?

What I do like is the tagging of sharks so that this gives one an accurate location of these creatures and by having this task carried out, I also hope scientists have some sort of facility where this will be monitored and warnings issued to beach goers (How to manage that is another question). In saying this though, how many sharks must there be in the ocean that migrate from WA & Australian waters through to South Africa and other countries?? Again, I feel it best to be paranoid if entering beaches and keep a look out.

I for one love the beach, I pick the area(s) where there is no visible seaweed, leaving only clean water areas where I can see the sand only so as to observe any shadows coming near me and my kids. It's my choice to enter these waters and I feel that there must be some give and take for both animals and humans, but to killing these creatures do not necessarily mean other sharks won't venture these beaches. It's a pretty stupid idea really.

[El Presidente]

I do believe in safety nets to protect swimmers but wonder how dependable these are?

In South East Queensland we have been shark netting certain swimming beaches for the past 40 years (from memory). During that time we have experienced one shark attack on a netted beach.

I could never understand how they work as they are submerged but a Shark can go under or around them. Still they have kept our beaches safe.

[Skyfall]

Will nets save you from this????

SHARKNADO!!!!!!

[MIKA27]

Will nets save you from this????

SHARKNADO!!!!!!

Please don't tell me you have watched this... I will lose all respect for you.

[MIKA27]

I could never understand how they work as they are submerged but a Shark can go under or around them. Still they have kept our beaches safe.

My thoughts exactly!! How do they work?

I know they work but knowing that there is that possibility for sharks to swim under, around them is what freaks me out.

[Skyfall]

Please don't tell me you have watched this... I will lose all respect for you.

So I take it you don't already have your tickets for the SEQUEL????????

http://mediaconnectiononline.com/?p=18727

[Ken Gargett]

In South East Queensland we have been shark netting certain swimming beaches for the past 40 years (from memory). During that time we have experienced one shark attack on a netted beach.

I could never understand how they work as they are submerged but a Shark can go under or around them. Still they have kept our beaches safe.

and in all that time, every swimmer who has gone missing is put down as a drowning. no doubt many are but all of them?

and as i mentioned earlier, a third of the sharks caught in the nets have entered the nets from the beach side.

[Lotusguy]

So I take it you don't already have your tickets for the SEQUEL????????

http://mediaconnecti...ne.com/?p=18727

I know I do.

Honestly, the first movie that I couldn't finish even drunk off my a$$... :eek:

[Pedro2486]

It's a huge topic here.

I can't help but feel like it's another of emperor barnetts harebrained schemes.

From what I've seen there does now seem to be an elevated risk to what it was a few years ago but the drum lining is a dumb idea. Like dropping a 500lb dumb bomb in a village to take out one house when a JDAM would be better.

I guess I'm trying to say that yes maybe some sort of measures should be taken but with all of the science we could be using, we're trying the dumbest idea first.

[Skyfall]

It's a huge topic here.

I can't help but feel like it's another of emperor barnetts harebrained schemes.

From what I've seen there does now seem to be an elevated risk to what it was a few years ago but the drum lining is a dumb idea. Like dropping a 500lb dumb bomb in a village to take out one house when a JDAM would be better.

I guess I'm trying to say that yes maybe some sort of measures should be taken but with all of the science we could be using, we're trying the dumbest idea first.

Is this in reference to the threat of Sharknados, Sharks or both?

[cigcars]

i'm just telling you what i saw. the film crew had put a camera in the pen in the feeding area. the geese came running at feeding time and they were the ones opening their gullets so as the feed could just pour in. there was no one grabbing them, no one holding them down. they were keen. so yes, they were the SAME geese. if there was any TORMENT, they were doing it to themselves. perhaps the farmers were taking advantage of this but i'm just telling you what i saw.

i'm not saying this is what happens everywhere but it was happening at this farm. perhaps they have a higher standard than others. there may be others more HORRIBLE but i can't and i am not commenting on that.

the one issue i do have with your comments is "MISERY" on the face of a goose? this is hardly fairy tale time. do they have little names and costumes?

*Hardy freakin' Har

Hey Ken: it did occur to me that there may be questions from SOME out there about how can there actual "expressions" on this bird's face??? From the photos I saw of the geese being held fast in these contraptions; a TUBE FORCED DOWN THEIR GULLET;

and the food being pumped down - YES! There IS a look of abject pain and misery in that face. As a long time pet owner it doesn't take having to see "smiles" or "frowns" on their faces to know there's something wrong if they're sick, not feeling good, have something going on with them. I'm not talking about bodily exputals, pus on their nose, moving slower than usual...but where they just have a pallor about them that as their owner, I can see something's not right. So detection can be done. For the farms that YOU saw in this film...I hope it IS a case of a lot more humane treatment...although it could have been film of what they wanted you to see...and then the selected geese were taken off to a torture chamber. I don't know. And believe me, I DON'T subscribe to PETA or those types of animal rights activists that spray paint people's fur coats, don't want people to have seeing eye dogs because "the dog will be uncomfortable!" and crap like that! I'm a meat eater. I love beef, chicken and so on. I believe that when it comes to humans compared to animals in MOST CASES humans' needs come way first. But I DON'T believe an animal should be needlessly tortured and tormented as in these labs, and being liver-bursted for Foie Gras, or have bleach deliberately rubbed into their eyes, extra-loud, sound barrier blasting loud noises played into their ears, being burned on the side of their bodies (of which they sever the vocal cords to keep from dealing with their screams), live animals being trussed up and having their ribs and chest broken due to blunt force trauma from hydraulic powered steel pounding bars to simulate auto accidents, and other such gruesome "experiments." There HAS to be a happy meeting ground for all sides concerned IMHO when it comes to "Game of Life".

[Bill Hayes]

I'm connected with the spearfishing community down here in Victoria and with a few spearos Australia wide and the general consensus seems to be that the majority are totally against the culling of the GWS, as am I. I have swum with a lot of species of sharks, including tigers, bulls, great hammerheads, silkies, black fringe whalers and silver tip whalers and one thing I've learned is that they are very predictable to a point then they are not - which makes them unpredictable. But a white shark seems to be a bit different again. To use a human term they seem more cunning - like a crocodile. There's a part of me that would love to see a GWS and swim with it and then there's another side that scares the crap out of me. One answer is to attempt to catch and attach tracking devices to GWS but this is a very expensive exercise and for every one you'd tag there would be countless others. Like most things, there's probably no perfect solution. I basically try and be smart about entering the water now - as much as you can be, especially after I was charged by a tiger shark once I'm not so gun-ho now. I don't dive in areas that have seals in the pupping season, have an enclosed fish keeper float to keep speared fish out of the water and when in sharkey areas stay in a group of two or more. Sharks, like most predators, like to separate one from the pack and look for the weak and injured - and being in the over 45yo couch potato state I'm in at the moment I reckon I'd look pretty weak and injured bumbling around like a big old potato cod.