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09/12/2006: "Not How He'd Want to Be Remembered ..."

While many hated to admit it, Steve Irwin was beloved by his fellow Aussies. As you might expect, his tragic death has led to an outpouring of grief and tributes. Everyone has to find their own way to come to grip with their emotions at times like this, but apparently some of his countrymen have chosen to turn their anger against the perceived villian in the Irwin tale ...

At least 10 stingrays have been killed since "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin was fatally injured by one of the fish, an official said Tuesday, prompting a spokesman for the late TV star's animal charity to urge people not take revenge on the animals.
...
Michael Hornby, the executive director of Irwin's Wildlife Warriors conservation group, said he was concerned the rays were being hunted and killed in retaliation for Irwin's death.

"It may be some sort of retribution, or it may be fear from certain individuals, or it just may be yet another callous act toward wildlife," he said.

He said killing stingrays was "not what Steve was about."

"We are disgusted and disappointed that people would take this sort of action to hurt wildlife," he said.

Hopefully, this is just a short-term, emotion-driven response and not the sort of species-wide downturn that faced great white sharks in the wake of the movie "Jaws". I'm certain Steve would have pretty harsh words for anyone who feels this is an appropriate tribute to him ...