That's partially why articles like this get my knickers in a twist. The mere fact that I don't even own knickers means that logically I'd have to go out and buy a pair of knickers and then twist them. That's a lot of effort just for a small action.
Over the past couple of years, my interest in shark conservation has grown. The little that we know about these great beasts and the irrational fear that is instilled in human culture, goes to show how deliberately ignorant we are about sharks. So when I read an article about a man who has caught a shark, gutted it and then uses it as a onesie, it's enough to make me sick. It's enough to make me say, no, I can't eat seafood anymore.
This is the equivalent of running over a snake crossing the road just because it's there. There was no need to have killed this shark whatsoever, yet here it is, dead. The death of the shark is one thing - a terrible action - but the media reaction is another. The amount of people who responded to the photo as if it were a joke is just atrocious. The people who thought it was a great thing to see have no soul.
I know that Australia is a country where fishing is a part of our culture - almost as much as hunting is in American culture. But when it comes to this kind of treatment of animals like sharks - an species which is already nearing critical status - that is disturbing. This is not the action of someone who respects the ocean they fish in, this is the action of someone who has complete disregard for the environment they pillage.
I'd wish that sharks as a species would become a respected species the same way that whales are in Australia. But I feel that we're still at the stage in our culture where sharks will still appear in Chinese restaurants in shark fin soup and you can still get a deep fried slab of shark from your local fish and chips shop for five bucks.
