Stop Australia's Cull

An Action Guide to Ending Queensland’s Shark Cull

SAVE SHARKS with a FAST EASY ACTION: Please copy, paste, and send the pre-drafted email (see middle of this page)

(ISSUE as of June 1st 2025)

The Queensland Government’s recent 88 million dollar expansion of its shark culling program—adding more nets, lethal drumlines, and drones—is a devastating blow to marine conservation. This escalation violates federal law (EPBC Act Section 43B), ignores overwhelming science proving culling ineffective, and perpetuates the slaughter of endangered species. As concerned citizens, we must act decisively. Here’s how you can help stop this archaic practice:

1. Demand Accountability from Decision-Makers (Please see a predrafted email and contact information below. Please copy, paste, and send to help make a change to save sharks and marine life.)

- Contact Federal Environment Minister Watt and Minister Tanya Plibersek: Urge her to enforce the EPBC Act by rejecting Queensland’s illegal expansion. Key talking points:

- The 2025 plan explicitly intensifies culling (more drumlines, year-round baiting), voiding its exemption under Section 43B.

- 90% of animals killed in nets/drumlines are non-target species, including endangered scalloped hammerheads and grey nurse sharks.

- Sample script: “Minister, Queensland’s shark program expansion breaches federal law. It must undergo independent assessment—not be rubber-stamped. Prioritize non-lethal solutions like WA’s successful drone/eco-barrier model.”

- Flood State MPs with Protests: Target QLD Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett and your local MP. Demand they:

- Halt new nets/drumlines (planned for Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and Wide Bay beaches).

- Reallocate funds to Surf Life Saving Queensland for drones and emergency response training.

2. Support Frontline Conservation Groups

- Donate Strategically: Organizations like EnvoyCull Foundation, Sea Shepherd Australia, Nets Out Now, and Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) are mounting legal challenges against the cull’s illegality. Even 20 dollars helps fund critical litigation.

- Join Citizen Science Initiatives:

- Report entangled animals and drifitng nets and lines

-Report shark sightings via apps like SharkSmart to prove non-lethal tracking works.

- Volunteer with beach surveys documenting bycatch (e.g., turtles, dolphins killed in nets).

3. Hit the Tourism & Seafood Industries Where It Hurts

- Boycott “Flake”: DNA tests show 10% of shark meat sold in Australia is from endangered species. Choose sustainable seafood using AMCS’s GoodFish Guide.

- Contact Tourism Operators: Urge major players (e.g., Queensland Tourism Board) to condemn culling. Cite WA’s success: tourism increased after adopting drone surveillance.

4. Amplify the Truth on Social Media

- Counter Misinformation: Share graphics debunking myths:

- Myth: “Nets make beaches safer.”

Fact: 40% of sharks are caught beach-side of nets—meaning they swam past and were trapped when leaving.

- Myth: “Drumlines protect swimmers.”

Fact: Two recent fatalities occurred near drumlines (Bribie Island, Keppel Bay).

- #EndTheCullQLD: Feature resignations like shark expert Colin Simpfendorfer’s—proof the government ignores science.

-Follow and repost from @EnvoyCullFoundation @NetsOutNow @AustraliaSharkConservation @SeashepardAustralia

5. Adopt & Advocate for Non-Lethal Solutions

- Use Personal Deterrents: Support subsidies for devices like Shark Shield (WA offers 200 dollars rebates).

- Push for Beach-Specific Upgrades: Demand eco-barriers (seagrass-friendly enclosures) at calm beaches like Cylinder Bay or Mooloolaba.

Why Your Voice Matters Now:

> “The lethal component of the Shark Control Program does not reduce the risk of shark bite. The scientific evidence is overwhelming.” – Administrative Appeals Tribunal, 2019.

Queensland’s expansion is a political knee-jerk reaction to recent tragedies, exploiting grief to justify ecological vandalism. With federal assessment pending and legal challenges mounting, public pressure can force a WA-style transition: Western Australia abandoned drumlines in 2014 for drones/barriers, proving ethics and safety coexist.

Please take 5 minutes today:

the Email Minister Watt and Plibersek,

share this blog with #EndTheCullQLD,

and donate to Sea Shepherd’s legal fund and Envoy Foundation.

Together, we can turn the tide.

Sources and Resources:

- Federal EPBC Act Complaint Form

- AMCS’s GoodFish Guide

- Sea Shepherd’s Shark Campaign

Please send this letter to

senator.watt@aph.gov.au and CC: primaryindustries@ministerial.qld.gov.au

senator.watt@aph.gov.au

Dear Minister Watt,

I am writing to express my profound concern and opposition to the Queensland Government's announcement to expand and intensify its shark control program. As someone deeply committed to both beach safety and marine conservation, I believe this proposed escalation – including more shark nets, more lethal drumlines, and increased baiting and killing – is fundamentally flawed. This expansion is deeply alarming for several reasons:

1. Irrational & Ineffective: Overwhelming scientific evidence confirms that lethal shark control methods do not enhance beach safety. They provide a false sense of security while failing to address the complex factors influencing shark encounters.

2. Environmental Devastation:These methods indiscriminately kill thousands of marine animals, including critically endangered species like scalloped hammerheads and grey nurse sharks, causing significant damage to Queensland's precious marine ecosystems.

3. Breach of Federal Law (EPBC Act): Crucially, the current program operates under a specific exemption (s43B). This exemption explicitly prohibits the enlargement or intensification of the exempted activities. The announced expansion clearly constitutes such an intensification and enlargement, thereby voiding the existing exemption. This action demands immediate federal assessment under the EPBC Act.

4. Misuse of Public Funds: Continuing to invest in this ineffective and destructive program is a waste of valuable public resources that could be directed towards proven, non-lethal alternatives. Given this clear breach of the s43B exemption conditions, the expansion cannot be rubber-stamped.

I urge you in the strongest possible terms to:

Call for the immediate referral of the entire Queensland Shark Control Program to the Federal Government for assessment under the EPBC Act.

Reject any proposal seeking to continue or intensify this outdated, scientifically unsupported, and ecologically damaging lethal program.

Minister Watt, please seize this opportunity to lead Queensland towards a future of modern beach safety. Effective, ethical, and ecologically responsible non-lethal strategies – such as drone surveillance, personal deterrents, community education, and improved emergency response – are readily available. The current expansion plan moves Queensland in the opposite direction. I implore you to champion science-based conservation and reject this harmful escalation. The public's funding could be spent in many other ways that would result in more lives saved from unnatural and more readily avoidable things, which are not ecologically damaging.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your Address - Optional but adds weight]

[Your Email/Phone - Optional]

[**ADD YOUR PERSONAL CONNECTION HERE**] [**In 2-4 sentences, share why YOU care about sharks and their protection.**] [**Examples: Mention a memorable ocean experience, concern for endangered species, love of marine ecosystems, belief in ethical conservation, or desire for future generations to see healthy oceans.**] -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Help End Queensland’s Shark Cull

An Action Guide to Ending Queensland’s Shark Cull

Please send this letter to

senator.watt@aph.gov.au and CC: primaryindustries@ministerial.qld.gov.au

Support these nonprofits in Australia Taking action

Envoy Foundation

Nets Out Now Australia

Sea Shepherd Australia

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