Outrage after Great White Shark circles 5-year-old put in cage for viral video
TWO PARENTS who run a popular family YouTube channel caused controversy when they let their young children go cage diving with great white sharks off Mexico.
Florida: Fishing group catch 13-foot great white shark
Two children, one aged five and the other seven, joined their father in the cage. A great white shark then swum around the cage and was filmed.
The video was loaded onto ‘The Bucket List Family’ YouTube channel, which has 944,000 subscribers.
Currently the video has been watched over 4.1 million times.
However it has sparked controversy with some accusing the parents of behaving irresponsibly.
Speaking to Australian website traveller.com travel writer Deborah Dickson-Smith raised her concerns about the decision.
She commented: “I think learning to dive with your kids is one of the most magical, bonding experiences you can ever have as a parent.
“But dipping your kids into a shark dive, before they are even old enough for the youngest level of dive training, is just mind-boggling.
"It's a really strange way to introduce your kids to diving and underwater."
This position was backed by some of those who watched the video in the comments section.
READ MORE: Shark horror - Woman savaged in terrifying attack from unknown beast
One wrote: “Only takes a second and something can go horribly wrong with holes in a cage like that.
“I would never bring my small children into a great white shark cage.”
Another added: “I had a mini heart attack when his little feet were outside the cage.”
There is no indication in the video that the children are ever under imminent threat from the shark.
DON'T MISS
Man savaged in terrifying shark attack near Channel Islands [HORROR]
Shark attack terror: Beach goers horrified as human leg washes up [TERROR]
Shark attack horror as mother’s arm brutally ripped off [ATTACK]
Speaking after the dive seven-year-old Dorothy said: “I was a little bit scared. But then I was brave.”
However other YouTube commentators came to the parent’s defence.
One asserted: “I like how the parents let the kids experience things instead of telling them to be scared.”
Another added: “The fact that these kids are this brave is crazy.”
Hawaii: Great white shark swims directly into diver
There are no recorded deaths from cage diving with sharks.
According to Andrew Fox, who runs a shark diving company in southern Australia, the sharks were likely in greater danger than the people.
A great white shark reportedly died off Baja California, a Mexican state, after becoming stuck in a cage last month.
Speaking to traveller.com Mr Fox said: “The reason why that shark got captured in the cage is that the design of the cage had a lot of vertical bars.
“The sharks aren't actually looking to get in and bite people.
“Sometimes they just swim in and get trapped.”