Many social media users — and PETA — were not impressed by Drew Rosenhaus' recent posts.
The sports agent shared videos on Instagram and Twitter that show him grabbing the tail of a shark in the ocean.
He was on a fishing trip with Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill when he decided to wrestle a shark and post the video, writing, "Went fishing with @cheetah and @blacktiph, @nflrecord. I decided to get up close to this Dusky Shark," on Instagram.
According to TMZ, PETA made a statement that said: "Aquatic animals already suffer at the hands of anglers who impale them, yank them out of the water, and gut them or leave them to suffocate, so they don’t need some wannabe macho man yanking on their tails for a few Twitter 'likes.'"
Many people on social media were not too happy about it either.
"This is absolutely disrespectful and unacceptable," one Instagram user (and shark conservationist) wrote. "Stop h@r@ssing wildlife for attention. And if that shark defended itself and bit the guy in the water, then it’d be called an attack and there’d be public outcry to k*ll all the sharks in the area. Negative shark interactions risk their lives and it’s such a shame to see this kind of disgusting behavior."
Other users left comments like, "Leave wildlife alone. Grow up!!!," "Real tough guy, NOT! Sad," and "This is unacceptable. What a clown."
Dr. Chris Lowe, a marine biology professor and director of the Shark Lab at California State University, told USA Today that Rosenhaus' video is a bad example of how to interact with sharks.
"We always say, it's cool to see them, don't chase them," Lowe told USA Today. "Let them come to you if they're interested, and certainly, don't touch them."
Lowe said the behaviors exhibited by the shark in Rosenhaus' video tend to occur if the shark has been caught before and "exhausted from the fight," or if the shark is sick.
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Lowe emphasized that a healthy shark would've bitten Rosenhaus in this situation.
