Fury has erupted in Hawaii after a local man posted footage on YouTube of him and his friends torturing a 14-ft tiger shark in Honokohau Harbor on Hawai’i Island.
Cruel video footage shows Mikey Mccrum torture the tame shark which has broken off a piece of its tail in the struggle
The tamed shark was well known to local residents, had been tagged and was lovingly referred to as Laverne by the local fishermen who regularly fed her.
Cruel footage of the men abusing the animal was posted online by Mikey Mccrum on August 30.
Entitled ‘Catching a 12-14 Ft Tiger Shark!,’ it has been viewed more than 65,000 times, attracting 861 dislikes and 39 likes.
The disturbing video, described as ‘Big Rope + Big Cable + Big Hook + Big Bait = LIVE ACTION with a Big SHARK!!!,’ starts with the shark already caught.
Laverne is clearly distressed and fighting for her life while the men attempt to pull her towards land, while making macho boasts about what they’re doing.
The video is labelled as ‘catch and release,’ but the two minute clip ends before you can see what happens to the tiger shark.
Towards the end of the footage it’s apparent Laverne has caused herself permanent damage to her tail in the struggle against the bullies and the top part of her fin has broken off.
In Hawaii the footage has caused a public outcry. People who work at the harbor say the men deliberately picked on the tam animal because it was an easy target.
They were spotted throwing raw fish into the harbor waters to attract the shark before they turned on it.
‘She’s used to being in there and this kid took advantage of the situation and tortured her and abused her, and this is not acceptable,’ Oriana Kalama, who founded the non-profit Maui-based organization Ocean Defender Hawai’i, told Hawaii News Now.
‘It’s [the footage] viewed around the world as a person who lives in Hawaii who disrespects, not only our environment, but our cultural beliefs,’ she said.
Unfortunately it doesn’t appear that any legal action can be taken against Mccrum and his thuggish friends.
Fishing isn’t prohibited in the area, and aren’t currently protected under animal cruelty laws on Hawai’i Island, although that could soon change.
Kalama has called for Mccrum, whose Facebook page features photos of him posing with dead boar, to publicly apologize for his actions.
Tiger sharks are common in Hawaii and some do attack humans, although this particular one was tame and certainly didn’t deserve to be tortured.
On YouTube, the majority of commentators have been appalled at Mccrum’s cruelty.
‘If you killed the shark and didn’t eat it, that’s disgusting. If you released the shark, then you’ve put an injured predator back into the water at a spot where dozens of people swim and dive every day,’ wrote one person.
‘Karma or Mother Earth my friends will take care of these low life people,’ commented another viewer.
‘Respect, love and compassion for our environment and our creatures is necessary. It’s important, it’s vital not only for our survival but the survival of our oceans, our community and us as people,’ said Kalama.
