Interspecific retributive justice?

Officially speaking, I’m disturbed by the news of this, but something about the story also strikes me as absurdly funny – while reprehensible, such actions offer a glimpse into the human condition and reveal something that is not very flattering about the role of reason in the world. For some reason, the comical elements of human irrationality on display outshine the obvious indefensibility of the acts in question. As reported in today’s Independent:

At least 10 stingrays have been found dead in Queensland waters in what are feared to be revenge attacks for the death of Steve Irwin, the popular Australian television naturalist.

It doesn’t take a lot of sophisticated work in environmental ethics to spot the problems in holding an entire species responsible for Irwin’s tragic accident, so no further comment is needed on that front. I just hope this doesn’t escalate into a Godfather-style bloodbath, with stingrays avenging their fallen comrades against other Aussie celebrities (okay, maybe they can have Mel Gibson). Can’t we all just get along?