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(Warning: this video may be disturbing to some viewers.)
A disturbing video featuring a fisherman fatally shooting a shark several times and laughing as the animal dangles lifeless from a fishing rod is making its rounds on the internet, and people are not happy about it.
The footage shows a man in sunglasses and a red hat pointing a gun at a shark that was just caught. He begins firing bullets into the shark’s gills and then chuckles afterwards. The person who filmed the video handed it over to animal rights activist Rush Rector and told him that the incident occurred Siesta Key near Sarasota.
“My first reaction was how ridiculous it was and how cruel it was, quite frankly. This was all done so they can videotape it and show it to their friends,” he said, adding, “If you are going to kill a shark, you shoot it in the head. He fired shots into the gill, causing the shark to bleed out and suffocate.”
The video was then passed on to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, which is now investigating the shooting as fisherman are not permitted to shoot sharks in Florida waters. The footage follows another disturbing video was circulated last month, which showed a shark being violently dragged to death by a boat.
“That video was forwarded to us as a result of the public outcry from the first shark dragging video,” a Commission spokesman told WSVN Channel 7. “The video is being investigated, and FWC can’t confirm identities.”
RELATED: A cruel and heartless video of men dragging a shark behind a boat has outraged the fishing community
