I’ve never had the chance to go deep sea fishing, but it’s on the bucket list. For an NFL player like Von Miller, it’s not hard to head out on the water and catch whatever is biting that day.

Things got interesting, though, when this bad boy took a bite out of his bait.

https://twitter.com/LacesOutShow/status/979799133262372866

That’s right. That right there is a hammerhead shark. It appears that Miller and company weren’t looking for a shark that day, but it happened. Now, PETA is trying to play linebacker.

Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller has come under fire following a recent fishing trip where he and his friends reeled in a 9-and-a-half foot hammerhead shark off the coast of Miami.

After a long battle with the shark, Miller posted video of the catch on social media. The crew, which was following instructions from a fishing tour guide, had not intended on catching hammerhead sharks, and you can see their surprise in the video below:

.@VonMiller's fishing trip in Miami was eventful 🦈 pic.twitter.com/5STErS3THT

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 30, 2018

After seeing the footage, an official from PETA told Newsweek they plan to “ensure Miller is held accountable if killing this animal was, as we suspect illegal.”

Now, let’s be clear. There’s no evidence that Miller killed the shark. The fact is, catch and release of hammerheads is perfectly legal, and that’s what Miller claims to have done. I’m inclined to accept that story, mostly because Miller is a fairly experienced outdoorsman, and he’s also apparently using a professional charter. It’s unlikely that anyone involved would be ignorant of the law, and the stakes are way too high for Miller to risk anything over a fish.

Instead, he reportedly took a photo of the shark – and really, who can blame him for that? – and called it a day.

What’s interesting is the timing. This comes right on the heels of the YouTube shooting, which turns out to have been perpetrated by a PETA member. While the shooting wasn’t motivated by PETA, their rhetoric, or their thinking, I’m sure it doesn’t help to know you have had more mass shooters in your ranks than the National Rifle Association, the Second Amendment Foundation, and Gun Owners of America combined.

I can’t help but wonder how much of this is an attempt to “wag the dog,” in a way. Is PETA trying to go after Von Miller to try and remove the stench of being tied to a mass shooter? Again, it’s awfully convenient, especially since there’s little to no evidence of Miller doing anything wrong.

With the PETA crowd, anything is possible.

Either way, though, this is typical PETA stupidity. If they had their way, we’d all be vegans and living on soy, which is why I’m damn glad they don’t get their way.

Mankind is a hunting species. We’re predators by design, and fishing is just hunting in the water, if you really think about it. While protecting species is fine and good, there’s no reason to waste taxpayer resources to investigate someone who accidentally caught a fish he didn’t mean to catch. There’s no evidence of wrongdoing, and PETA knows it.

What they want to do is try and make it a pain to hunt or fish, particularly for celebrities. Their thinking is that if fewer famous people hunt and fish, fewer other people will do it as well.

Well, now I want to hit the water just to spite them.