Sharks must now swim for their lives, due to plans recently announced by Western Australia’s regional government.

Premier Colin Barnett has enacted a six million dollar policy to kill great white sharks that venture into coastal waters frequented by people. The policy, described as a preventative measure, reverses the current approach of killing Great White Sharks only if they have attacked people.

The Conservation Council of Western Austria describes the new approach to sharks as a “guilty until proven innocent” approach and a “knee-jerk reaction to public concern that will harm the environment without protecting swimmers.”

Despite its fearsome reputation, little is in fact known about the Great White. Yet as a so-called apex predator, the loss of the Great White Sharks could result in drastic and far reaching consequences for the global food chain. The shark is already listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

And there is little concrete evidence that killing sharks makes people any safer.

Please sign this petition to help us overturn this knee-jerk policy.