Lobsters given another chance
September 28th, 2006 by admin
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Division of Law Enforcement publishes weekly reports about the work of their officers. Usually the reports are about drunk boaters or the arrests of people caught using spotlights to kill (”poach”) wild pigs or deer at night, but the reports often also include a few unique stories. This week’s report was no exception.
Wildlife officers discovered the remains of a tiger and giraffe on a property near Hawthorne (Alachua County). Their investigation revealed that a taxidermist had dumped the carcasses after removing the animal’s skins. Apparently, the animals originated from a “legitimate captive wildlife source” and had been euthanized. People who possess tigers and other exotic animals as “pets” are an odd bunch, but skinning the animal after he or she has died?! (The taxidermist was charged with illegal disposal of dead animals.)
In Monroe County, an officer investigating complaints about commercial lobster traps being robbed confronted two men on a boat off of Marathon at 1am in the morning. The officer found almost 200 spiny lobsters in the boat, and the men (who were covered in mud) admitted that they had been pulling lobster traps. The men were arrested, and the lobsters were returned to the water alive!