11 replies to this topic

[Drew]

Seems a few ozzies have no life and are going around killing sting rays in spite. Could be kids or drunk idiots. I hope the sting ray barbs those idjuts.

SMH coverage

CNN coverage

[loftus]

So many dumb #@##@#@'s in the world

[anthp]

Fools!

[Giles]

Aren't rays hunted in many places for food anyways ? like for Bay scallops ?

and we shouldn't expect any less as Aussies are the only country I know that puts out contracts on Great Whites. Isn't it 3 they have caught after attacks in the last decade .. with coast guard assistance .. and I dont think any of them had any human remains in the stomach.
I was in Perth when they were hunting one great white in 2000 or 2001 .. something like that, maybe 1999.

[drsteve]

Now there is a tribute to a hard core environmentalist! Despite what people say about Irwin's in your face style, he loved animals and would be horrified by this done in his name.

[wagsy]

Loosers...what a bunch of idiots.....

Yes Giles, we aussies are dumb when it comes to Shark attacks.....I like statements like " it just swam off and none of the boats could find the killer shark" The media just bleeds it for all they can....

[Drew]

and we shouldn't expect any less as Aussies are the only country I know that puts out contracts on Great Whites. Isn't it 3 they have caught after attacks in the last decade .. with coast guard assistance .. and I dont think any of them had any human remains in the stomach.
I was in Perth when they were hunting one great white in 2000 or 2001 .. something like that, maybe 1999.

2000 Nov, mate. Guy was chomped at Cottsloe Beach and they UNofficially had a shark hunt. They hunt for the sharks after the attack, thinking that if they kill the shark that thinks a splashing bather in waist height mud viz water is food, then all will be well. The scuba guy who was attacked had a better answer...endorse shark pod while hunting for crayfish.

[Giles]

2000 Nov, mate. Guy was chomped at Cottsloe Beach and they UNofficially had a shark hunt.

There was nothing unofficial about it ... there were 3 coast guard boats out patrlling with harpoon style guns and also a helicopter trying to spot it .. every day for about a week.

Hey ho ... it's about keeping the populous happy I guess.

[tdpriest]

Jaywalk, get hit by a car: ban all road traffic!

Dive to 110 feet without any training, die, ban those dangerous amateur divers!

P*** off a ray, get stung, kill the rays...

It's all depressingly logical, really.

I guess the idiots will never understand that wildlife is, well, WILD. It's their sea, and we shouldn't crowd them.

I guess that the only sanction that we have is to avoid visiting any location where such ridiculous behaviour isn't promptly stamped out by the local authorities. So that's Iceland, Norway, Japan other whaling supporters and now Australia that I can't dive... still, there's a lot of warm water elsewhere!

Tim

B)

[Kelpfish]

However, unlike the shark chomping, Irwin's demise was preventable. It's his and the film dude's fault for "getting the sting ray riled up". He being on an axial position to the ray and the filmer being in front of it, what would you do if you had a 10 inch stinger (no jokes here folks, pleas). But that's what the a-holes who are "killing rays" don't get, so they take it out on the animals themselves so by killing the ray, the killers can "feel better", like they did something in Steve's name.

[imasleeper]

Just a thought, but maybe someone (a writer perhaps?) is just making up a connection between these rays deaths and Steve Irwin's demise. A quote within the article alludes to this possibility,"A Queensland Government spokesman said the finds would be investigated as possible cases of animal cruelty, but were not thought to be related to Irwin's death." The "connection" real or imagined makes for good copy.

Condolences to Steve's family :-(

imasleeper

[Drew]

imasleeper
While I don't like jumping to conclusions and the evidence is very circumstantial, but let's look at the facts. Before Irwin's death, they didn't find many dead stingrays dead with no tails on the beaches. Within days of Irwin's death due to a stingray barb, 10 stingrays pop up dead on 2 beaches, 2 of which had tails hacked off.
Coincidence? The human in me hopes so but the cynic in me believes not, because unfortunately the human species has a bad history of reactionary mindless retaliation, re anyone looking middle eastern immediately after 9/11, shark hunts after a shark attack etc etc.