'Incredibly rare' shark washes up on Hampshire beach before being butchered by 'trophy hunters'
20 March 2023, 08:58
An 'incredibly rare' shark was 'butchered by trophy hunters' after it was found dead on a beach on Hampshire.
Locals walking along Lepe beach found a dead shark, which was later spotted without its head and tail on Saturday.
Historian Dan Snow saw the shark and said it "exceptionally rare visitor" for a UK beach.
Meanwhile, Rob Deaville wrote: "Thanks everyone who notified us about this unusual shark stranding in Hampshire yesterday. Sadly, someone removed the head and fins last night, not much left."
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Shark update.
— Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) March 19, 2023
Biologist friends like @Ben_garrod identified it as an exceptionally rare visitor to these shores and asked me secure it. I failed. The head, tail and fin were grabbed before I get assemble a big enough team to drag it off the beach to the nearest road. pic.twitter.com/XinSiwrusU
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"We have recovered a good chunk of it but some trophy-hunters got there just before us and they took the head and the dorsal fin on the tail," Mr Snow told the BBC.
The historian said he was "really disappointed" by the fact that the trophy-hunters had decapitated the shark.
He also described the discovery as a "once-in-a-lifetime find in British waters".
Dr Ben Garrod, a professor in evolutionary biology at University of East Anglia, said assessing the shark was important for scientists, as it offers a "snapshot" of how animals live in the sea.
"The oceans cover 71 or 72% of our planet, however it's still incredibly mysterious," he said.
"Every time we see a whale breaching or a shark washing up, this is like finding a Roman hoard or Viking daggers."
