Actor and comedian extraordinaire Ricky Gervais has used his celebrity status to support the opposition of a shark cull happening on the other side of the world, in Western Australia.
Using internet activism to oppose the cull, which will see sharks that are 3 metres or over caught and killed, Gervais and other celebrities at the National TV Awards held up a sign which read: "To the government of Western Australia – Listen to Facts, Listen to Science, Listen to Reason – Stop the Shark Cull." The photo, which was then posted on Twitter alongside the hashtag #nosharkcull, was spearheaded by TV producer Gemma Care, who also managed to persuade Tom Daley, Alan Carr and Keith Lemon to be photographed with the sign.
The cull of great white sharks was approved by Australia's new conservative government in response to a growing number of fatal attacks over the past three years. The government say that the attacks are threatening the state's $7.8bn tourism industry and recreational diving operators said the number of people learning to dive had dropped by 90 per cent.
The measure has outraged conservation and environmental groups who point out that great whites are listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The Humane Society has described the cull as "a complete disgrace" and thousands of protesters recently rallied against it on Perth's Cottesloe Beach.
A repeat demonstration is planned for 1 February and Lynn MacLaren, from Western Australia's Green Party, is considering a legal challenge to the hunt. But Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt remains unmoved by the protests. "One does not have to agree with a policy to accept that a national interest exemption is warranted to protect against imminent threat to life, economic damage and public safety," he said.
