Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, one of the greatest defensive players who ever lived and a respected free-range chicken rancher, recently went fishing off the coast of Florida, where he hooked a hammerhead shark while he and his friends were fishing for other species. The shark was an incidental catch, and Miller did not mean to catch a shark of any kind.
But when he reeled the 9-and-a-half-foot shark onto the boat, he knew he had a heck of a catch. He posed for a picture with the monstrous fish, then released it back into the water.
Unfortunately, the pictures shows a good deal of blood on and around the shark. That blood prompted some who saw the picture to assume the shark had been killed. But here’s a news flash – sharks and other fish often bleed when they’re caught, but they don’t die from losing a little bit of blood. Miller asserts that he released the shark back into the ocean, and it was alive and well when it swam away.
But PETA says he committed a crime. Nobody from PETA was on the boat, yet they say Miller killed the shark and that he is guilty of violating Florida law. Please. Get a life, PETA.
Maybe Miller shouldn’t have posed for a picture with the shark, or posted that picture to his Instagram feed. But at least he’s showing his viewers an animal they otherwise might never see, and educating people about species that need a little conservation help. All PETA’s doing is making allegations that cost law-abiding sportsmen time and money.
To show my support for Miller, I believe I’m going to eat a hamburger.
