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A video of two men sitting on a shark at the shore of Panama City beach in Florida went viral on June 4, 2023. The video also shows the men dragging the shark by the hook onto the shore. A beach visitor named Tammy Scott shared images and videos of the incident on Facebook. It has since been reposted by the outlet al.com. The description and the text on the video claimed that one of the men was riding the shark like a cowboy.
The caption as well as the video enraged netizens as many thought that men were abusing the shark while bystanders did not intervene. The videos sparked some debate as one group of people said that the men were probably trying to catch the shark. Others said that the group was only helping out the shark by getting rid of the hook.
The videos and photos also went viral on Twitter. In a reply to a tweet by a user @Not_the_Bee, a person said that the men should be taken into custody on charges of animal cruelty.
Netizens react to viral Panama City beach shark video
Tammy Scott, the person who shared the shark videos turned off comments on her Facebook post as it was filled with people accusing the two men of abusing the animal. However, some locals said that sharks are a common occurrence at Panama City beach in Florida. They even claimed that this particular group was only helping the shark get back into the water.
Some people doubted that the men were probably fishing for sharks and expressed concern over the safety of beachgoers.
The sharks in the Panama City beach videos are claimed to be unharmed
In one of the videos, they shared, Tammy Scott walked toward the group of men pulling a hooked shark to the sand. A child could also be heard saying that it was a baby shark that appeared to be around 5 feet long.
A number of people tried to hold the shark in place as one man tried to get rid of the hook from its mouth. After a brief pause, the group was able to push the shark back into the water.
Tammy shared another video from Panama City beach, which showed a larger hooked shark in a similar situation.
Five men tried to pull the shark towards the shore to remove the hook. Since it was a larger animal, it kept thrashing around at the water’s edge for a few seconds and even managed to slap one of the men with its tail. The onlookers could be heard laughing at it amusingly, which was what enraged netizens when they saw the video. Eventually, two men were able to hold it down from both sides.
In a third video, the shark was seen being released into the water after it was unhooked. One bystander could be heard saying that they were not sure whether the group of men intended to catch the shark.
Tammy had declined to be interviewed and said that she was only a bystander and not a participant. She also clarified in the comment section of her Facebook post that both the sharks had been released into the water unharmed as far as she could tell.
