A video of two fishermen recently went viral on Facebook for their acts of brutality on a defenseless shark.
The shocking video footage shows a shark had been entangled in a fishing line alongside a commercial fishing boat in Greenland. Then, the fishermen were seen on the video cutting the shark’s tail to free their line.
The shark tried to swim off, but its back end has been bleeding from the cut. Meanwhile, the two fishermen switched the camera to their laughing faces.
“The guy is so proud of himself that he disabled comments because no one seems to agree with him.. got a screengrab before he closed that… share at will,” Christel Yr Johanse, the one who shared the video on Facebook, said in her own post.
RUV, a local news outlet, reported that the fishermen can be heard yelling “Good luck trying to swim, you punk!” on the video.
RUV added that the two fishermen in the video have been fired from their jobs and could also face animal cruelty charges. The fishing boat owners also issued a statement, where they condemn the “horrendous event.”
The shark was known to be a Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), which is a large shark but does not pose any threat to humans. The last known report dates back to 1859, according to Britannica. This type of sharks also only eats other fishes and little sharks.
There are no known total populations of this shark species, but reports from the Florida museum claims its population has been on a decline.
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– About 100 sharks washed up dead, their fins ripped off
– Save the sharks! Protecting sharks and rays in the Philippines
– More shark species closer to extinction than feared, IUCN Red List reports
