Just when you thought it was safe to put it back in the water… Woman is bitten by a shark after picking it up for a SELFIE on a beach in Brazil - then FINED £5,000 for animal cruelty 

  • The woman grabbed the shark pup from the sea as she walked along the beach in the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, off the coast of Brazil
  • As she took a photo with it, the shark bit her hand, leaving her needing stitches
  • Video of the Brazilian woman trying to release its grip was shared online Tuesday
  • Last night the woman and her boyfriend, who had filmed the incident, were charged with animal cruelty and ordered to pay a fine of around £2,500 each
  • Neither the woman nor her boyfriend have been publicly named 

By Matt Roper for MailOnline

Published: 04:42 EST, 8 February 2017 | Updated: 05:07 EST, 8 February 2017

A tourist who was filmed trying to take a selfie with a shark on a Brazilian beach has been slapped with a £5,000 fine, it was reported on Wednesday.

The woman, who has not been publicly named, grabbed the shark pup from the sea as she walked along the beach in the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, off the coast of Brazil. 

But as she wrestled with the shark it bit into her hand, leaving the 35-year-old holidaymaker needing stitches.

Video of the Brazilian woman's frantic attempts to get the writhing animal to release its grip was shared online on Tuesday.

The woman, who has not been publicly named, has been fined after grabbing a shark pup from the sea as she walked along the beach in the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, off the coast of Brazil

The woman, who has not been publicly named, has been fined after grabbing a shark pup from the sea as she walked along the beach in the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, off the coast of Brazil

As the 35-year-old Brazilian wrestled with the shark, it bit her in the hand and she struggled to release its grip

As the 35-year-old Brazilian wrestled with the shark, it bit her in the hand and she struggled to release its grip

Eventually a friend, who was standing by ready to take the picture, helps her remove the creature before she tosses it back into the water.

On Tuesday night, the woman and her boyfriend, who had filmed the incident,were charged with animal cruelty and ordered to pay a fine of around £2,500 each.

The archipelago's Chico Mendes Biodiversity Institute stipulated the penalty after it emerged the animal was an endangered lemon shark and the beach was in the Marinho national park, a conservation area.

Signs in the 69-square-mile park warn visitors not to kill, catch, disturb or feed the animals.

Following the incident on Monday, the woman was admitted to the island's Sao Lucas Hospital where she received four stitches on her hand, according to reports.

Eventually, a friend, who was standing by taking a photo, had to help the woman release its jaws from her hand

Eventually, a friend, who was standing by taking a photo, had to help the woman release its jaws from her hand

The pair are finally able to loosen the shark's grip and free the woman's hand. She was left needing stitches after the incident

The pair are finally able to loosen the shark's grip and free the woman's hand. She was left needing stitches after the incident

The video was met with harsh criticism from social network users after the couple, from Brazil's northeastern state of Paraiba, posted it online.

One, Joao Quinto, wrote: 'Why? To put a photo on Facebook? Isn't it enough that animals have their own habitats destroyed, we have to harass them in their refuges? I hope she's learned her lesson.'

Another user wrote: 'We've become such strangers to nature that casually grabbing a shark for a selfie now seems like a good idea.'

The incident comes just a year after a dolphin died on an Argentinian beach because onlookers took selfies with the animal instead of putting it back in the water.

And in June last year a blue shark was left dead after a group of tourist pulled it out of the water to take a selfie in the Dominican Republic.

On Tuesday night, the woman and her boyfriend, who had filmed the incident,were charged with animal cruelty and ordered to pay a fine of around £2,500 each

On Tuesday night, the woman and her boyfriend, who had filmed the incident,were charged with animal cruelty and ordered to pay a fine of around £2,500 each

The woman threw the shark back into the ocean after the selfie turned bloody. The video was met with harsh criticism from social network users after the couple, from Brazil's northeastern state of Paraiba, posted it online

The woman threw the shark back into the ocean after the selfie turned bloody. The video was met with harsh criticism from social network users after the couple, from Brazil's northeastern state of Paraiba, posted it online

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