WA abandons shark culling program, but reserves right to kill again

The Western Australian government has conceded defeat over its plan to systematically trap and kill large sharks near popular beaches, after scrapping a proposal to implement the strategy over the next three years.

Colin Barnett, the WA premier, confirmed on Friday that WA had withdrawn its application to the federal government for the shark culling to go ahead.

However, WA has struck an agreement with the federal government that will enable it to implement the policy without approval from Canberra in emergency situations of “imminent shark threat”. This will mean the capture of any shark that is “posing a threat” or that has just attacked someone.

“It is important that that we can take action to protect human life when necessary due to an imminent threat, without delay,” Barnett said.

“The federal and state governments will work together so that the state government can take appropriate action to protect public safety when there is an imminent threat from a shark, as was the case in the recent attack in Esperance.

“This approach strikes the necessary balance between protecting public safety and protecting our environment.”

The WA government had wanted to string baited drumlines 1km out from more than 70 popular beaches in Perth and south-west WA for the next three years. Contractors on roving boats would shoot and kill any shark measuring over 3m found on the hooks.

A 10-week trial of the strategy earlier this year saw 172 sharks captured, 50 of them over 3m. The drumlines will now be able to return, but only in “emergency” situations.

An assessment by WA’s Environmental Protection Authority recommended that an extended culling program should not go ahead due to a “high degree of scientific uncertainty” about the impact upon the marine environment.

The assessment delivered a mortal blow to the WA government’s hopes of getting approval from the federal government. The great white shark is nationally protected and catching and shooting it requires federal permission.

The WA government’s backdown has been welcomed by groups who fiercely opposed the cull. The policy’s opponents, including a large number of scientists, decried it as cruel, unnecessary and potentially counterproductive as it would draw sharks closer to the beach.

“The evidence is overwhelming that the cull policy proposed by the WA state government was flawed, and I think the federal minister for the environment would have had to reject the proposal,” said Greens senator Rachel Siewert.

“Today’s outcome is a reflection of the strong community campaign against this cull and is a tribute to all those people in WA, around Australia and overseas who have joined rallies and shown their opposition to this plan.”

However, Humane Society International (HSI) said the approval of the “imminent threat” policy was disappointing.

“The imminent threat policy is a joke,” said Michael Kennedy, campaign director of HSI. “This is not only a complete waste of money, but also a complete mockery of the WA government’s commitment to improving the scientific understanding of white sharks.

“With the bar set so low as to what constitutes an imminent threat, it is clear that it is still true that no shark in WA that swims near a beach is safe from being caught and killed.”

There have been 11 shark attack deaths in WA waters since 2000. Earlier this month, a surfer lost a hand and part of his other arm in a shark attack off WA’s south coast.