A Daily Telegraph article today revealed that the state government has asked three councils to choose one beach that they would like to see net-free for this next season—Waverley, Northern Beaches and Central Coast.
All three councils (which include Liberal, Labor, Greens and Independent members) have long opposed the use of shark nets and we are hopeful they will respond requesting removal of the nets from all their beaches. This is because shark nets do not make swimmers safer—something the article fails to mention until the very end.
Many beach goers do not realise the nets are not complete barriers so they provide nothing more than a false sense of security. Once they know the facts, polls demonstrate ocean users prefer additional modern technology such as drones and not shark nets.
"The nets are not just ineffective, they may actually put swimmers at greater risk by attracting sharks closer to beaches where struggle and die in the nets. They've created a perfect feeding opportunity," said Lawrence Chlebeck, Humane World for Animals, Marine Biologist.
"This progressive decision indicates the Minns government may finally be changing its stance on outdated shark nets, and heeding the science and community expectations by removing nets from these beaches. We encourage them to extend that decision to remove shark nets from all remaining beaches throughout the state as soon as possible.
"Shark nets indiscriminately kill all sorts of the marine life that makes our oceans incredible—dolphins, turtles, rays, and many smaller, non-target sharks are killed every season."
Not a single local council, of the eight that have had shark nets installed on beaches within their jurisdictions, requested their continued use. Waverley, the Northern Beaches and the Central Coast councils have made their position very clear for a number of years, so this decision should be well received.
The decision is a step in the right direction showing the government has recognised that modern alternatives will make swimmers safer and protect threatened marine wildlife, and comes after years of alternative trials, community consultations and stakeholder deliberations.
"We thank all the community groups, charities, scientists and Members of Parliament who took up the cause and helped us reach this point," said Mr Chlebeck.
"But this isn't the end. As long as shark nets are in the water, killing marine wildlife and attracting sharks, our efforts to see them completely eradicated from every beach in favour of better, more modern alternatives will continue."
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Together, we tackle the root causes of animal cruelty and suffering to create permanent change. With millions of supporters and work happening in over 50 countries, Humane World for Animals—formerly called Humane Society International—addresses the most deeply entrenched forms of animal cruelty and suffering. As the leading voice in the animal protection space, we work to end the cruelest practices, care for animals in crisis and build a stronger animal protection movement. Driving toward the greatest global impact, we aim to achieve the vision behind our name: a more humane world. humaneworld.org.au
