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College student catching shark with bare hands, and the clip is causing debate
Good harmless fun or dangerous cruel act? You decide.
William Maldonado
09.22.20

What do you think about when you imagine fishing? Rods, reels, baits, and boats, right? Well in this controversial video, a college student shows that catching fish might just requires guts, bare hands, and a short walk off an ordinary pier.

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YouTube

It was a day like any other, until something unusual was noticed

The video opens showing University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire student, Alex Winn, who was 19 at the time. He and his friends were on a pier enjoying a warm day out by the water. Everything was fine for the group, but then they noticed something unexpected in the water.

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Pexels

Alex knew about the fish, and what made it so strange to see…

Alex looked into the water and realized what it was. It was a small shark, the dogfish to be exact. These foraging predators are unusual among sharks because they grow only to be about 4.5 feet long on average and usually hunt in dog like packs. So seeing one on its own was definitely a strange sight for Alex.

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YouTube

A daring decision based purely on the rule of cool

But rather than leave the shark alone. Alex had a different idea in mind. He decides to leap into the water to catch the shark with his bare hands. Alex had this to say about his decision:

“It got so close to the dock and I said to myself, ‘it would be really cool to catch one of these things”

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YouTube

Diving right in to the most dangerous catch

After diving into the water, Alex struggles to grab hold of the shark. While it was easy to hold on to the small animal, he had to be careful about the venomous spines on its dorsal fins. But don’t worry, Alex didn’t get hurt and managed to grab the fish without any problems.

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YouTube

Alex celebrates his victory with a little prank

Alex’s friends cheer him on for his feet of barehanded fishing. Then Alex tosses the shark onto the pier making his friends scatter and squeal. The shark flops about trying to get back to the water. But then you see Alex grab the shark off the pier holding it in hand.

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YouTube

Alex’s catch exploded on social media and here’s why

The video may not seem like a big deal. Especially since the shark is about the same length as a larger weiner-dog. But you have to remember that it does have venomous spines and teeth. It’s still a predator, which makes Alex’s catch crazy and bold, so the video spread like wildfire.

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YouTube

As Alex says:

“75,000 people viewed it in the first 10-15 minutes.”

But the widespread views weren’t all from fans…

Reviews were mixed on the original video. Some people criticized Alex’s actions. These critics called out Alex for cruelty to animals and having a laugh at the shark’s expense. Others though said the video was fine since it was literally a catch and release, since no hooks or nets were involved.

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YouTube

Alex responded to these complaints by saying that he released the water back to the water and watched it swim away as if unharmed.

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YouTube

The question about animal videos

Animal videos like this expose viewers to animals in a new way. But there is debate over whether Alex’s actions were just a harmless exploration of nature or if he was cruel to this shark. It’s up to viewers to decide whether Alex was in the wrong or not.

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