Editing Great white shark (section)

=== Shark culling ===
{{Main|Shark culling}}
[[Shark culling]] is the deliberate killing of sharks by a government in an attempt to reduce [[shark attack]]s; shark culling is often called "shark control".<ref name="shark_culling" /> These programs have been criticized by environmentalists and scientists—they say these programs harm the [[marine ecosystem]]; they also say such programs are "outdated, cruel, and ineffective".<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.ntd.tv/2018/09/04/video-endangered-hammerhead-sharks-dead-on-drum-line-in-great-barrier-reef/ |last=Phillips |first=Jack |date=4 September 2018 |title=Video: Endangered Hammerhead Sharks Dead on Drum Line in Great Barrier Reef |publisher=Ntd.tv |access-date=30 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919094449/https://www.ntd.tv/2018/09/04/video-endangered-hammerhead-sharks-dead-on-drum-line-in-great-barrier-reef/ |archive-date=19 September 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Many different species ([[dolphins]], [[turtles]], etc.) are also killed in these programs (because of their use of [[shark nets]] and [[drum line (shark control)|drum lines]])—15,135 marine animals were killed in New South Wales' nets between 1950 and 2008,<ref name="shark_culling" /> and 84,000 marine animals were killed by Queensland authorities from 1962 to 2015.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.afd.org.au/news-articles/queenslands-shark-control-program-has-snagged-84000-animals |title=Action for Dolphins. Queensland's Shark Control Program Has Snagged 84,000 Animals |author=Thom Mitchell |date=20 November 2015 |access-date=30 August 2019 |archive-date=24 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224053505/https://www.afd.org.au/news-articles/queenslands-shark-control-program-has-snagged-84000-animals |url-status=live}}</ref>

Great white sharks are currently killed in both [[Queensland]] and [[New South Wales]] in "shark control" (shark culling) programs.<ref name="shark_culling" /> Queensland uses [[shark nets]] and [[drum line (shark control)|drum lines with baited hooks]], while New South Wales only uses nets. From 1962 to 2018, Queensland authorities killed about 50,000 sharks, many of which were great whites.<ref name="decline">{{cite journal |last1=Roff |first1=George |first2=Christopher J. |last2=Brown |first3=Mark A. |last3=Priest |first4=Peter J. |last4=Mumby |title=Decline of coastal apex shark populations over the past half century |journal=Communications Biology |volume=1 |issue=1 |year=2018 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1038/s42003-018-0233-1 |pmid=30564744 |pmc=6292889}}</ref> From 2013 to 2014 alone, 667 sharks were killed by Queensland authorities, including great white sharks.<ref name="shark_culling" /> In Queensland, great white sharks found alive on the drum lines are shot.<ref name="onegreenplanet" /> In New South Wales, between 1950 and 2008, a total of 577 great white sharks were killed in [[shark net|nets]].<ref name="shark_culling" /> Between September 2017 and April 2018, fourteen great white sharks were killed in New South Wales.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2018/08/04/sydney-shark-nets-set-stay-despite-drumline-success |last=Mackenzie |first=Bruce |date=4 August 2018 |title=Sydney Shark Nets Set to Stay Despite Drumline Success |publisher=Swellnet.com. |access-date=30 August 2019 |archive-date=21 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921114712/http://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2018/08/04/sydney-shark-nets-set-stay-despite-drumline-success |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[KwaZulu-Natal]] (an area of [[South Africa]]) also has a "shark control" program that kills great white sharks and other marine life. In a 30-year period, more than 33,000 sharks were killed in KwaZulu-Natal's shark-killing program, including great whites.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.sharkangels.org/index.php/media/news/157-shark-nets |title=Shark Nets |publisher=Sharkangels.org |access-date=30 August 2019 |archive-date=19 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919132309/http://www.sharkangels.org/index.php/media/news/157-shark-nets |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2014 the state government of [[Western Australia]] led by Premier [[Colin Barnett]] implemented a [[Western Australian shark cull|policy of killing large sharks]]. The policy, colloquially referred to as the [[Western Australian shark cull]], was intended to protect users of the marine environment from shark bite incidents, following the deaths of seven people on the [[Coastline of Western Australia|Western Australian coastline]] in the years 2010–2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/About-Us/Media-releases/Pages/New-measures-to-combat-WA-shark-risks.aspx |title=New measures to combat WA shark risks |publisher=Department of Fisheries, Western Australia |date=10 December 2013|access-date=2 February 2014|archive-date=1 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201195519/http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/About-Us/Media-releases/Pages/New-measures-to-combat-WA-shark-risks.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> Baited [[drum lines]] were deployed near popular beaches using hooks designed to catch great white sharks, as well as [[bull shark|bull]] and [[tiger shark]]s. Large sharks found hooked but still alive were shot and their bodies discarded at sea.<ref name=":5">{{citation |last=Arup |first=Tom |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=21 January 2014 |url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/greg-hunt-grants-wa-exemption-for-shark-cull-plan-20140121-315zk.html |title=Greg Hunt grants WA exemption for shark cull plan|archive-date=22 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122181103/http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/greg-hunt-grants-wa-exemption-for-shark-cull-plan-20140121-315zk.html |publisher=Fairfax Media}}</ref> The government claimed they were not [[culling]] the sharks, but were using a "targeted, localised, hazard mitigation strategy".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-22/can-governments-protect-people-from-killer-sharks/5158880 |title=Can governments protect people from killer sharks? |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=22 December 2013 |access-date=2 February 2014 |archive-date=31 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031175236/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-22/can-governments-protect-people-from-killer-sharks/5158880 |url-status=live}}</ref> Barnett described opposition as "ludicrous" and "extreme", and said that nothing could change his mind.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/australia-shark-policy-stay-despite-threats-5815606 |date=29 January 2014 |title=Australia shark policy to stay, despite threats |access-date  = 6 February 2023 |agency=Associated Press |website=www.tvnz.co.nz |archive-date = 30 January 2014|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140130064852/http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/australia-shark-policy-stay-despite-threats-5815606 |url-status   = bot: unknown}}</ref> This policy was met with widespread condemnation from the scientific community, which showed that species responsible for bite incidents were notoriously hard to identify, that the drum lines failed to capture white sharks, as intended, and that the government also failed to show any correlation between their drum line policy and a decrease in shark bite incidents in the region.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.southernfriedscience.com/more-than-100-shark-scientists-including-me-oppose-the-cull-in-western-australia/ |title=More than 100 shark scientists, including me, oppose the cull in Western Australia |date=23 December 2013 |language=en-US |access-date=31 August 2016 |archive-date=22 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822234618/http://www.southernfriedscience.com/more-than-100-shark-scientists-including-me-oppose-the-cull-in-western-australia/ |url-status=live}}</ref>