14 DAY TRIAL // Recent news from Western Australia says that high officials in this part of the world are so pleased with how the state's shark cull is going that they are thinking about having this initiative last for another three years. Needless to say, conservationists are not exactly thrilled about the idea.
Western Australia's shark cull first made headlines towards the end of 2013, when the state's government announced plans to install as many as 72 drum lines at a distance of about 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) from shore.
At that time, high officials explained that these drum lines would serve to catch sharks guilty of venturing too close to Western Australia's coastline. Of the animals caught in this manner, those measuring more than 3 meters (9.8 feet) in length were to be killed, the government detailed.
Western Australia's catch-and-kill initiative, whose goal is to make local waters a tad safer for swimmers and surfers, officially started earlier this year, on January 26, and is scheduled to come to an end on the last day of April.
However, The Guardian informs that, in a recent interview, a spokesperson for Minister Greg Hunt admitted that the Barnett government had applied to extend the shark culling program for another three years, i.e. until 2017.
The same source informs that, should this proposal be given the thumbs up by the federal government, shark catch-and-kill programs are to be carried out in Western Australian waters each year until 2017, starting with the month of November and up until April.
Conservationists and even some politicians were quick to react to this proposal to continue carrying out shark culls in Western Australia for another three years, and, as was to be expected, there were a great deal of people who had not so nice things to say about this initiative.
Thus, Western Australian Greens MP Lynn MacLaren wished to point out, “The recent state byelection should have sent a clear message to the federal government that people are opposed to the drum lines. The swing towards the Greens was a result of so many people being opposed to it. I’m appalled they are continuing to go down this line.”
“The policy has failed and there are far more effective things that can be done to keep swimmers safe. Drumlines make the ocean more dangerous. Having small, injured sharks caught on the lines attracts bigger sharks,” added Western Australian Labor leader Mark McGowan.