Two seamen, Halldór Gústaf and Gunnar Þór, recorded themselves cutting the tail off of what appears to be a Greenland shark, laughing about it, before tossing it back into the sea in Iceland.
Both of the seamen have since been fired, and may face criminal charges.
The video in question was posted by Christel Ýr Johansen, along with the status, “SUCH SICK LOSERS!
The guy is so proud of himself that he disabled comments because no one seems to agree with him … got a screengrab before he closed that.. share at will ;)”
Watch the original Facebook video here (Beware, shocking footage)
“Good luck trying to swim, you bastard!,” one of the seamen can be heard shouting as they laugh, and the shark swims away bleeding profusely, minus its tail.
Icelanders who watched the video by and large did not share the seamen’s sense of humor, and it has been shared widely.
RÚV now reports that the two seamen in question have been fired from the ship they worked on, with the owners of the ship saying in part, “This act is completely unjustifiable and those who committed it have no excuse.
The owners have no other choice but to refuse any more services from the person displaying this kind of behaviour.”
RÚV also spoke with Þóra Jóhanna Jónasdóttir, a veterinarian of animal welfare at the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, who added that the men broke several laws in this act, and may face up to a million ISK in fines on animal cruelty charges.
Due to the slow swimming speed of the shark, trying to grab a meal is quite an issue, researchers have learned that they are most likely ambush predators, waiting until their prey is asleep (usually Seals in the water) and then slowly approaching.
They have also been found to be scavengers and eat carrion (dead and decaying flesh of animals) and they are not picky eaters either.
Researchers have found many different and unusual animals in the stomachs of Greenland Sharks including polar bears, horses, moose and even an entire reindeer!
The (now former) seamen have not yet commented to the press.
Source: DV.is / PerryPonders
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