Shark victim’s mother challenges cull in court

Agencies/SydneyA woman who lost her son in a shark attack is suing in court to stop a controversial government culling programme off the beaches of Perth.Sharon Burden, whose 21-year-old son Kyle was mauled to death while surfing in 2011, filed a suit yesterday with marine activist group Sea Shepherd Australia to halt the killing.They are seeking an immediate injunction against the West Australian (WA) government’s culling of sharks, which began four weeks ago after a fatal attack.The group said it would argue that the action violates a law protecting great white sharks.Burden told reporters she found it disturbing to see the drumlines set to catch sharks off the beach where her son was killed.She told WA Today there is a “need to protect everything in nature.”The court filing followed protests by thousands of people around Australia against the shark cull.Dozens of sharks - but no great whites - have been killed by the drumlines. The state government said it could not comment as the matter was before the court.“Sea Shepherd Australia believes that the tender process was unlawful, that the WA state government has been acting unlawfully, that the taking and killing of protected animals was illegal,” it said in a statement. “The law contemplates some sort of process being in place to protect these protected animals and that process has been scotched.” The controversial policy to catch and kill sharks off popular west coast beaches was given the green light in January after six fatal attacks in the past two years. It is aimed at reducing the risks to water users and allows baited drum lines with hooks designed to capture large sharks to be set 1km offshore at busy Western Australian beaches for a trial period until April 30. Any shark longer than 3m snagged by the lines and deemed to be a threat - including great white, bull and tiger sharks - is being destroyed. Sixty-six sharks were caught in the first three weeks, according to the West Australian newspaper, which yesterday said there were fears among fisheries officers that sharks impaled on hooks were attracting bigger sharks to coastal areas. The cull move has angered conservationists with rallies held at sites around the country over the past few weeks. Opponents claim the trial flies in the face of international obligations to protect the great white shark. “We are seeking an injunction to remove the drum lines immediately on the basis that a judicial review needs to be conducted as to the way the shark mitigation programme was rolled out,” Sea Shepherd said. Sharks are common in Australian waters and experts say attacks are increasing in line with population growth and the popularity of water sports.