Shark kills surfer in Western Australia...

[Ammi]

A 35-year-old man has been killed by a shark while surfing in Western Australia.

Beaches have been closed in the area near Gracetown, 167 miles (270km) south of Perth, after the man's body was pulled from the sea on Saturday morning.

Eyewitnesses described how the man's arm was missing and there was no sign of life when he was dragged to shore.

Officers from the Department of Fisheries have issued an "imminent threat danger" been sent to the area to attempt to catch the shark.

The attack happened at an area known as the Lefthanders surf break.

Surfer Tom Jones told the ABC he was at nearby Big Rock beach at the time of the attack and knows of the victim.

"Cop cars rolled up at Lefties and we thought, definitely another shark attack," he said, adding, "I know of him, and he was pretty young to die."

The man's body was airlifted from the beach. It is reported he was surfing alone at the time.

Gracetown has now been the site of three fatal shark attacks in the past 10 years. It is the tenth fatal attack in Western Australia in nine years.

Surfer Bradley Smith was taken by a great white at a beach near the town in 2004, and another surfer, Nicholas Edwards, was killed by a shark at nearby South Point.

And Saturday's attack comes just weeks after diver Greg Pickering was bitten on the face and body by a five metre great white while diving off the coast of Esperance also in Western Australia.

It also comes as some of the world's finest chefs - including Heston Blumenthal - gather in the state's southwest for a gourmet tourism extravaganza.

The Australian Associated Press reported that Mr Blumenthal was surfing in waters near the site of the attack on Friday.

The dead surfer has not yet been identified.

When it comes to shark attacks Australia is now the world's deadliest country



http://news.sky.com/story/1172593/shark-kills-surfer-in-western-australia

[Vicky.]

Officers from the Department of Fisheries have issued an "imminent threat danger" been sent to the area to attempt to catch the shark.

--

****ing ridiculous :bored:

[Josy]

Leave the bloody shark alone, it's sad for the guy that died but at the end of the day we tresspass on their territory.

Also wtf does this

It also comes as some of the world's finest chefs - including Heston Blumenthal - gather in the state's southwest for a gourmet tourism extravaganza.

have to do with anything? :shrug:

[thesheriff443]

Leave the bloody shark alone, it's sad for the guy that died but at the end of the day we tresspass on their territory.

Also wtf does this



have to do with anything? :shrug:

i have to say its something josy when you put a shark before a human.

[Jesus.]

They're changing the name of the area at least. It will now be known as "Nohanders surf break".

[Jesus.]

i have to say its something josy when you put a shark before a human.

It isn't a choice. Josy doesn't have a gun with one bullet left, and on one side is a man, and another is a shark. It's not Sophies choice.

[Josy]

i have to say its something josy when you put a shark before a human.

Who done that? :conf:

[thesheriff443]

Who done that? :conf:

you did by saying we are tresspassing on the sharks teritorry.
humans are far mor important than sharks.

[Tom4784]

How foolish he was to surf alone in an area known for it's Shark attacks.

[thesheriff443]

How foolish he was to surf alone in an area known for it's Shark attacks.

people climb dagerous mountains when they dont have to.

[Josy]

you did by saying we are tresspassing on the sharks teritorry.
humans are far mor important than sharks.

Its true that humans are trespassing on the sharks territory, a shark doesn't go out it's way to hunt down swimmers and attack them you know, humans also kill a lot more of them than the other way around.

Who are you to say who is the more important species they have been around a lot longer than we have.

[Jesus.]

people climb dagerous mountains when they dont have to.

We don't send the army to level them to the floor if someone falls and dies.

[arista]

How foolish he was to surf alone in an area known for it's Shark attacks.


Yes tragic

[thesheriff443]

Its true that humans are trespassing on the sharks territory, a shark doesn't go out it's way to hunt down swimmers and attack them you know, humans also kill a lot more of them than the other way around.

Who are you to say who is the more important species they have been around a lot longer than we have.

im someone that feels the death of someone's brother,son, uncle,father, is more important than the death of a shark.
you dismiss the loss of life of a human and would rather show more compasion to a shark.

[Josy]

im someone that feels the death of someone's brother,son, uncle,father, is more important than the death of a shark.
you dismiss the loss of life of a human and would rather show more compasion to a shark.

Not once in this thread have I dismissed loss of human life.

[thesheriff443]

We don't send the army to level them to the floor if someone falls and dies.

my point is people do dagerous activitys,i dont think he set out with the intention of being killed by a shark,steve erwin never for one moment thought he would be killed by a sting ray.

[thesheriff443]

Not once in this thread have I dismissed loss of human life.

your focus was on the shark, and a casual sad that he died then straight back to the shark.

[Josy]

your focus was on the shark, and a casual sad that he died then straight back to the shark.

Well it is sad that he died, what else do you want me to say? no one else in the thread has showed any more sympathy than I.

I was discussing the shark because it states in the article that they are trying to catch it...

[Jesus.]

my point is people do dagerous activitys,i dont think he set out with the intention of being killed by a shark,steve erwin never for one moment thought he would be killed by a sting ray.

Yeah, I know and understand that. We all think we're at least a bit invincible at times. I'm not sure how killing another animal does anything to bring him back.

Just as we don't blow up mountains when someone freezes to death or falls off, nor do we have the right to kill a shark as revenge for killing a man. People can use the "develop a taste for human flesh" argument, but his body was found whole, barring an arm, so if the shark wanted to hunt humans, he didn't seem to like the taste.

We're just not fatty enough for them.

[thesheriff443]

Yeah, I know and understand that. We all think we're at least a bit invincible at times. I'm not sure how killing another animal does anything to bring him back.

Just as we don't blow up mountains when someone freezes to death or falls off, nor do we have the right to kill a shark as revenge for killing a man. People can use the "develop a taste for human flesh" argument, but his body was found whole, barring an arm, so if the shark wanted to hunt humans, he didn't seem to like the taste.

We're just not fatty enough for them.

i think its the same as a human killer, if someone kills we want to catch them, if a sharks has killed we need to catch that in case it attacks again, the life of a shark is not worth the same as a human being.

[AnnieK]

my point is people do dagerous activitys,i dont think he set out with the intention of being killed by a shark,steve erwin never for one moment thought he would be killed by a sting ray.

No, but he knew the risks involved of being near wild animals / sea creatures, as do surfers.

People who do extreme sports know the risks, he could have caught a bad wave and been dragged out to sea at any time. It is a tragic loss of life and my sympathies go to his loved ones and those who witnessed this but killing this shark won't stop other shark attacks or teach sharks not to attack so it seemss fruitless IMO.

[Jesus.]

i think its the same as a human killer, if someone kills we want to catch them, if a sharks has killed we need to catch that in case it attacks again, the life of a shark is not worth the same as a human being.

I'm against the death penalty in all situations. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, so I definitely don't feel any primitive desire for revenge over an animal that has evolved over hundreds of millions of years to kill things in a particular way, in a particular environment.

[Apple202]

sherriff get a grip, josy and jesus are right, the shark shouldn't die

[Samm]

Poor man must of been terrifying R.I.P

[Z]

i think its the same as a human killer, if someone kills we want to catch them, if a sharks has killed we need to catch that in case it attacks again, the life of a shark is not worth the same as a human being.

You're applying human morals to a species that isn't human. The shark didn't look at this man and kill him because it wanted to rob him or because it had a perverse desire to murder or because it was a hostage situation gone wrong. It attacked him because it's a hunting animal. The man would not have been in that situation if he had chosen not to go surfing. This man put himself into danger, so as sad as it is that he has died, I think it's wrong to go on a witch hunt to try and kill a shark that for all we know will never attack a human again because now it knows that it doesn't enjoy the taste of human flesh. It probably thought he was a seal, going by that old adage that surfers look like seals from below because of the shape of surfing boards and arms dangling down if they're paddling through the water. The shark probably just attacked the guy's arm and realised he wasn't a seal and left him alone; the guy unfortunately then bleeding out and dying.

[Z]

I also think it's incredibly arrogant to say that the life of a shark isn't worth as much as the life of a human. I'm no animal activist but I don't consider myself more worthy of the right to live than another species...

[Gstar]

What's the real problem here?

This man went surfing ALONE in a sea where shark attacks HAVE happened in the past, and when I say past it was only a couple weeks after the latest attack which means that there's a high percentage the shark is still lurking around. Now they want to kill the shark for someone's carelessness? pshhh. oh and R.I.P

This reminds me of another story of when a man and wife who lived next to a woods were told that there were bears on the loose but what did the man do? He took both of his dogs out for a walk in the PITCH DARK and ended up getting brutally attacked by a bear. The bear was later caught and killed.

It's not fair for animals to pay the price of people who don't listen.

[Jesus.]

You're applying human morals to a species that isn't human. The shark didn't look at this man and kill him because it wanted to rob him or because it had a perverse desire to murder or because it was a hostage situation gone wrong. It attacked him because it's a hunting animal. The man would not have been in that situation if he had chosen not to go surfing. This man put himself into danger, so as sad as it is that he has died, I think it's wrong to go on a witch hunt to try and kill a shark that for all we know will never attack a human again because now it knows that it doesn't enjoy the taste of human flesh. It probably thought he was a seal, going by that old adage that surfers look like seals from below because of the shape of surfing boards and arms dangling down if they're paddling through the water. The shark probably just attacked the guy's arm and realised he wasn't a seal and left him alone; the guy unfortunately then bleeding out and dying.

http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dims3/GLOB/resize/550x600/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.mandatory.com/media/2013/05/shark-human-trapped-cage.jpg

[MTVN]

The sea makes up about 70% of the earth, the only bit of that we humans ask for is a little bit of space off our shores to enjoy a nice relaxing swim or maybe a bit of a surf, is that too much to ask of the sharks?

[thesheriff443]

I'm against the death penalty in all situations. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, so I definitely don't feel any primitive desire for revenge over an animal that has evolved over hundreds of millions of years to kill things in a particular way, in a particular environment.

let them murder your family and get a good telling off, some people dont deserve life!.
i dont care how long sharks have been around, we hunt and kill are competetors even if its human.

[MTVN]

They aren't trying to catch the shark purely out of revenge though, but because there is now a known threat to the lives of humans in an area they frequently go to surf, it's about trying to minimise the risk of any future attacks

[Me. I Am Salman]

If that was my family member killed by a shark ngl I'd want it dead sorry

[Jesus.]

let them murder your family and get a good telling off, some people dont deserve life!.
i dont care how long sharks have been around, we hunt and kill are competetors even if its human.

It doesn't matter what the crime is, I just don't believe in the death penalty, for either human, or animal crimes. You may think it's easier to think that when I've not been through it, but it isn't, it just means I've thought about my position, and I base it on my views and morals, not some base instinct.


The shark isn't our competitor, in the same way birds aren't our competitors when they fly into a plane engine and cause it to crash.

[Me. I Am Salman]

I also think it's incredibly arrogant to say that the life of a shark isn't worth as much as the life of a human. I'm no animal activist but I don't consider myself more worthy of the right to live than another species...

Humans are more important 100%, I have no time for people that would save a dog as opposed to a random stranger. But obviously an animal's life is still valuable

[Z]

Humans are more important 100%, I have no time for people that would save a dog as opposed to a random stranger. But obviously an animal's life is still valuable

I get what you mean, but I just don't think it's justifiable to kill a shark (how are they even supposed to know they've found the right shark) because it killed a human - it doesn't have a moral compass, food is food.

[Ammi]

If that was my family member killed by a shark ngl I'd want it dead sorry

..I think if it was me, then I would know that a knowledge that the shark was dead/killed wouldn't lessen my grief but actually might intensify it, feeling that it was pointless as I would say that the likelihood of a similar thing happening with the same shark would be very rare...it seem like one of those just very tragic/random things when for some reason, the shark felt 'threatened' or something....removing two lives because of it, wouldn't make sense at all to me....

[Marc]

Well that's what sharks do I guess

[MTVN]

I get what you mean, but I just don't think it's justifiable to kill a shark (how are they even supposed to know they've found the right shark) because it killed a human - it doesn't have a moral compass, food is food.

What about killing it to ensure the safety of other humans? They now know there is a deadly shark in waters popular with surfers

[Marc]

Matthew I believe the answer lies in the complete banning of surf boards

[Jesus.]

What about killing it to ensure the safety of other humans? They now know there is a deadly shark in waters popular with surfers

The shark didn't want to eat that guy though, because he didn't eat him. He had an exploratory bite and left him alone when he realised he wasn't his food source.

[Z]

The shark didn't want to eat that guy though, because he didn't eat him. He had an exploratory bite and left him alone when he realised he wasn't his food source.

Exactly, and it's fairly common knowledge that sharks can't distinguish between seals and humans on surf boards because they look very similar from below.