Shark culling in Australia - what do you think?

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/10/shark-cull-this-half-baked-u-turn-is-not-convincing

I'm against it. If people don't like sharks, don't go into the water. You wouldn't go running through the African plains covered in meat sauce if you're afraid of lions, so why go splashing about in the ocean if you're afraid of sharks? No need to kill them.

I'd certainly be against the cull. I don't like sharks & I wouldn't go anywhere near the water if a shark was likely to be within a couple of miles of the shore!

If you don't like them, stay out of their world!

Precisely. Human mentality seems to think that anything dangerous must be killed.

Of course they're dangerous - they are absolute killing machines, perfected over centuries!

So stay away from their environment, and enjoy the beach instead!

Yep! It's about time people had respect for these animals - they've been there for longer than we have.

tbh I think if shark nets can be properly deployed on swimming beaches and are effective, then culling sharks should not be necessary.

If I ever get to visit Australia I'd love to swim in the sea, old as I am, and snorkel to look at the underwater life. Apart from sharks though there are saltwater crocodiles and box jellyfish, the latter of which particularly scare me. Paradise will always have it's problems, it seems.

Definitely! There are loads of netted beaches in Australia!

It's mainly surfers and body-boarders affected by shark attacks. And, really, is it surprising? There's the well-known assumption that a body-boarder or surfer laying flat on their board looks a hell of a lot like a seal or sea turtle.

Well I am at a loss to know how a surfer or body-boarder could be protected from shark attack, apart from vigilant scanning for shark presence. Obviously netted areas won't be suitable for those sports.

I can't see (in my ignorance) that culling of sharks would make any difference at all - other sharks would only move in to the vacant areas.

Exactly! Surfers are moving into the sharks' territory. They go into the water, knowing that there are sharks there.

If surfers go into the water knowing that sharks are present then they are fools unto themselves.

I'd feel the same about myself if I went into a sea where I knew that stinging jellyfish (whether just painful or lethal), weaver fish, or indeed sharks were likely or sighted.

In surfing areas there needs to be vigilant surveillance of possible hazards and the results given to potential swimmers/surfers/bodyboarders. If they choose to ignore warnings then that is their responsibility and not the sharks'.

Totally agree with you, Lynda!

Exactly! It's the same old story, isn't it? Humans mess up, other animals pay the price.

If you don't want to get kicked by a horse, you don't go into its field. Same should apply here. We are using the water for pleasure, they are living in it! Humans are NOT more important than animals

Yup. But humans can be selfish, so apparently it doesn't matter that another animal lived there first - we like it, therefore we own it.