Great news for coyotes and foxes! On Wednesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission met to discuss coyote/fox penning. Commissioners considered several options, including prohibiting the chasing of fox and coyote in enclosures, allowing the enclosures to remain open but with stricter regulations, or phasing out the enclosures by 2013. After hours of discussion and testimony from the public- including several ARFF representatives- the commission voted unanimously in support of a draft rule prohibiting the operation of fox and coyote enclosures!
The final vote will take place at the FWC’s meeting in early September in Weston. Please e-mail the FWC at Commissioners@MyFWC.com and thank them for their vote in support of ending cruel coyote and fox pens.
Puppy dealers back in business. On Tuesday, Broward Circuit Judge Robert Rosenberg ordered Jim and Gilda Anderson to pay a $26,500 fine for violating Florida’s pet lemon law and the terms of a lawsuit settlement (read our previous posts about the Anderson’s here and here). In addition, the Andersons must also allow periodic inspections of their Davie mansion by an independent veterinarian to ensure the puppies they are selling are healthy. But the judge did not shut the business down. According to financial information submitted to the court, the Anderson’s sold 150 dogs since December for a profit of $79,870 (an average profit of $532 per dog)!