The search for sharks that killed a surfer in Western Australia has been called off after the victim’s brother called it an “act of senseless revenge”.
As reported by News From Abroad, 29-year-old Bradley Smith was killed by two sharks while surfing near the city of Perth, on Australia’s west coast, at the weekend.
But, despite calls for the sharks to be hunted down and killed, Smith’s brother Stephen called for them to be spared.
The Independent quotes him as saying: “We are still in the process of coming to grips with what has happened. But I don’t believe the shark should be killed for the sake of what has happened in this situation. I don’t believe that Brad can be revenged by killing a shark.”
In the event, a search for the sharks was called off yesterday because authorities said that even if they were found, there would be no way of linking them to the attack.
The Sydney Morning Herald quotes a fisheries spokesman as saying: “We ended the search last night at dusk. There were no sightings and we believe that there was no use in continuing with a dedicated search. If, in fact, there was a decision to take the shark, that would have been difficult because making that relationship with the attack would have been difficult.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
