Kelly Slater taken to task over pro shark cull Instagram post
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Champion surfer Kelly Slater has raised the ire of conservationists by calling for a cull on sharks on Reunion Island, the site of a fatal shark attack last week.
Local surfer Alexandre Naussance, himself a former shark spotter, died after being bitten on the leg while surfing a beach French officials say is a known hotspot for shark activity.
His death is the eighth fatal attack on the Island since 2011 while there have been an additional 12 non-fatal attacks in that same time.
Over the weekend, Slater posted on his Instagram page: "Honestly, I won't be popular for saying this but there needs to be a serious cull on Reunion and it should happen everyday."
Slater continued: "If the whole world had these rates of attack nobody would use the ocean and literally millions of people would be dying like this."
The post quickly whipped up a flurry of negative comments, with many taking aim at Slater's perceived about-face in the wake of his renowned pro-environmental stance.
In response, Slater posted: "My heart is in the right place but now I am being vehemently attacked by the people I have most identified with for the majority of my life."
"Humans are the biggest threat to life on earth as most creatures know it My comments in reaction to another death of a kid following his passion. I know more about this issue than 99+% of people commenting yet I still don't know enough."
The post is not the first time Slater has attracted condemnation online. He was widely condemned for super-imposing his face on to an image of late actor Gene Wilder the day after his death, again on his Instagram feed.
Slater said at the time it was a tribute to the actor and that has mother "did call me Willy my whole childhood".
He also drew criticism for unveiling footage of his now famous wave pool the day after Brazilian surfer Adriano de Souza won his maiden world title in 2015.
Earlier this year, Slater indicated he was going to "take one more shot at the world title" which fuelled speculation the 45-year-old would retire.
But Slater clarified the comment in typically cryptic fashion with a reporter from the LA Times earlier this month.
"People took it that way, but it's not necessarily the case," he said.
"I may pull back and just not do any full years. I don't foresee myself stopping doing contests anytime soon, but that full tour thing might not be too appealing.
"If I feel healthy this year and give it my all and don't win, then I doubt that I'll do more full years. I feel like I've put in four or five years just now where I honestly didn't give a full effort."
The opening event of the 2017 World Surf League tour begins on March 14 at Snapper Rocks, Queensland. Slater will begin the year ranked seventh behind current world champion, John John Florence of Hawaii.
Topics: surfing, social-media, environmental-management, marine-biology, internet-culture, sport, reunion, united-states
