Shark Attack

[JayAlfredPrufrock]

Nice to see that the shark that killed a swimmer in Egypt was caught and beaten to death on the beach.

<Slow handclap>

Much more damaging to try to silence people for eating meat and thinking another case of animal suffering is wrong.

AHH this is where I think you are being naive.
People already don't like the pretty exotic animals being abused. Save the whales. Doggy club. Etc.

They're not going to stop abusing animals. Just the naice ones.

I know they wont stop. That's fine, selfish species and all.
What I can't stand is people pretending they care about animal cruelty whilst participating in it and berating foreigners for xyz.
Shark attacks, yulin dog festival, halal meat. British people like to get up in arms about it so they can have the moral high ground even though they are no better. I expect it's an outlet for their racism too

@coronabeer pretty difficult to shot a shark in the ocean.

This. What was the man doing in a shark infested sea in the first place????

@Boudicasbeard terrifying

What was the man doing in a shark infested sea in the first place????

cooling off I expect

No - sharks can live a surprising long time out of water,

They have gill slits rather than filaments. Takes much longer to suffocate.

Does your quick Google include having any experience with actual alligators?

No. Surprisingly enough they're a bit short on gators in Glasgow.

Are you really saying that all Floridians have witnessed gator attacks and that it's the most pressing concern on their mind? Really? My friend lives in Windermere and she takes precautions, doesn't let her kids swim in the lakes for a start, but of all the hazards in Florida, the gators are pretty low down on her list.

And yes humans have increased the risk of alligator attacks by taking over their territories, interfering with their food sources and feeding them.

Good god. This is a direction I did not imagine mumsnet would swing. It fucking ate someone! Who cares if it was in its natural environment! The people who live and work there want their kids to be able to swim in the fucking sea! It’s hot as balls out there! No one wants a man-eating shark hanging around! Seriously of all the things to get VERY VERY indignant about this is… really deranged.

How many people should we let a shark eat. Is there an upper number? Can sharks be rehomed to another body of water if they’ve eaten too many people?

Apparently it's very common for boat tour guides to "chum" the water to attract the sharks so that they make a display for tourists.

How many people should we let a shark eat. Is there an upper number? Can sharks be rehomed to another body of water if they’ve eaten too many people?

Remember we shouldn't ever go in the sea, it's not our business.

Clubbing a shark to death is the standard way to kill them. Most fish can just be left on the boat deck to suffocate, anything with a big jaw like a shark or conger eel gets clubbed.

It may not be nice, but it is normal.

Other times if there is no market for bycatch fish they get thrown back into the water to die. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65835203 note the marks on the gills, that's from nets.

Rock salmon is on a fish and chip shop meu near you.

RIP swimmer
Egypt, get your act together and stop throwing animal carcasses into shallow water.

Flights - in view of the catastrophic damage it causes to ecosystems, no we don't have any business being in the air for our jollies, either.

My kids aren't going to get eaten by a shark on holiday with me.

My mother vs shark - in view of the number of small sharks she has eaten bits of over the years, including after it became well known that Roc Salmon is eating Critically Endangered Spiny dogfish, near threatened Starry smooth hound and Vulnerable greater spotted dogfish, saying 'I don't care, I like it, look at me, I'm a shark eating woman! Ha ha!', I'd probably say that it's probably quite apt that the endangered species got one back for a change.

How about we just stop people going in the water if there’s been a shark attack? People don’t need to be in the water, we have swimming pools 🤔

Mumsnet is a crazy place sometimes.

I would put money on the fact that most of these posters would do the same if it was their DC the shark ate. I can’t imagine how horrifying it would be to witness, and people act rashly when emotions are high.

The gator thing is a real problem with tourists in Florida because they just don’t have the same awareness

I know, BoudicasBeard and they're hardly to blame for that as we don't have the same things in the UK - but you'd hope folk would at least read the signs

Golf playing Floridian friends say you can always spot the visitors because they're the ones running shrieking across the links when a gator's spotted in the distance, while the locals just get on with their game

Let's face it though, you've got to respect something that's such a perfect survivor that it's existed for millions of years with very little amendment ...

@ClaraThePigeon

So your ‘expertise’ about gators is, at best, second hand.

If you live in most of the southern states they you have to work on the basis that any body of water could harbour a gator. It is a big problem but one that is background because- well, everyone knows they are there. They’re in people pools, on the gold course, in the lakes, large ponds. Literally everywhere, even in built up areas.

And there are a lot of gator attacks. Not a lot of fatal ones because most people aren’t stupid enough to go lake swimming. And there is a healthy gator culling business to get rid of the really pesky ones. Most good housing developments are walled to stop them coming in and setting up home in the pools. Ours backed out on to old swamp and had an eight foot wall behind the house and a mesh over the patio. It didn’t stop the black widows and the rattle snakes but at least the gators stayed out.

I'm wondering why you bothered to study for a Marine Enviromentalism degree, Troubg, when you seem to have such little regard for animals other than humans.

And PoeAFighterAResistanceFighter. Some of us give a shit about all animals not just the cute ones.

And you're outraged about a Mumsnet thread where people have a different view. Why? The shark is dead, like you think should happen. Why do you care if other people are bothered?

Didn’t realise that it was the victim’s Dad who clubbed the shark to death. I wonder if he had offered a reward to gave the shark brought to him. I think grief can make you do horrid things.

@Lovemusic33

That’s really narrow minded priviledged thing to say. What about all the people who live on the coast in Egypt but are too poor to do anything but swim in the Nile (crocodiles) or the sea (sharks). But fuck them, right?

I expect if it had been someone other than a Russian man some would feel differently about it let's be honest. He was swimming off a resort in an area that wasn't renowned for sharks let alone shark attacks, the shark was just being a shark, but it's still very unfortunate all round and I can't even imagine how horrific it must have been for his girlfriend and his father to witness that. Many animals are treated appallingly and people aren't really arsed, I'm not sure why some are apparently so passionate in this case.

@troubg

You sound like you’re trying to justify it?

I’m sure there are experts - maybe vets or marine biologists - who would be able to kill the shark with minimal suffering. What happened to that shark was barbaric.

You could argue that millions of animals are treated - and killed - barbarically every day, and you’d be right. But most people, at least in the UK are shocked by animal cruelty, which is industries like the meat and dairy industries try very hard to paint a picture of happy animals being humanely dispatched. I would argue that animals often suffer - quite a lot, in some cases - to provide food for humans. But the suffering is a by-product, it’s not the point of farming. Just like the dog festivals in China are not the same as other forms of meat-eating, because the torture is deliberate, not a side-effect.

TL/DR: You can stll think this was cruel and unnecessary, even if you eat meat (which I don’t).

@Boudicasbeard I know that there are gators everywhere. What's your point? You're not telling me anything new and for your information what I'm getting from you is equally second hand from my POV. No different to what my friend has told me. But again though my friend takes various precautions and is aware of the risk, it's still hardly on her list of top 5 things to worry over.

I haven't asked my other FL friends how they feel about gators but I will.