14 DAY TRIAL // This Wednesday morning, Paul Vogel, the current chairman of the Environment Protection Authority in Western Australia, had a talk with members of the press and said that the organization was not to investigate the state's ongoing shark cull.
More precisely, he said that, all things considered, this initiative would have a minimal impact on ecosystems off the state's coastline, The Guardian reports.
This is because the initiative will only run until April 30 – or at least this is what high officials in Western Australia would like people to think – and because the operation is not as large-scale as some folks believe.
Consequently, there was no need for the Environment Protection Authority to spend time and money assessing the environmental impact of using drum lines to kill sharks, Paul Vogel went on to argue.
By the looks of it, the Western Australian Greens do not share Paul Vogel and the Environment Protection Authority's views on the matter at hand.
Thus, they are now criticizing the organization for its failure to do its job and keep a close eye on the wellbeing of the state's natural ecosystems.
Apparently, Greens MP Lynn MacLaren has gone as far as to label the Authority's refusal to assess the initiative “an outrageous affront to tens of thousands of Western Australians.”
Together with other Greens, Lynn MacLaren is asking that Albert Jacob, the state's environment minister, twist the Environment Protection Authority's arm into investigating how the shark cull is affecting marine ecosystems.