Re:self defense is the key term (Score 1)

I understand what you're saying but it still seems somewhat odd to me. I mean, I don't know much about diving either but I've heard (not entirely sure) sometimes they carry knives on a dive to be prepared for the worst. Let's say I'm diving and a shark takes a nip at my leg, I'm going to use any means necessary (including the knife) to get him off me before he decides he likes the taste of my arm more than my leg.

I can see how, without specifying the self-defense part, people could still kill great whites without reason but at the same time, if I show up in a court room with a hunk of my leg missing and plead guilty to killing the damn shark, I'd like to know they'd let me off. :-)

Frankly, it's all a moot point since I don't dive, I don't live in Austraila and it all doesn't really matter for me. The law seemed silly until you pointed that out. Now it seems less silly but still sort of unfair to someone who is capable of defending themselves against a shark attack (despite however rare that may be).

Thanks for raising a good point though. ;-)