Florida Murders More Animals

this is absolutely abhorrent and infuriating - those poor babies and those poor owners - absolutely inexcusable in my book and yet another reason to hate FL:

text from USARK-FL with hashtags omitted

“Contact Gov DeSantis 850-717-9337
governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com


Contact the Governor and tell him to ask for the resignation of FWC leadership and an immediate end to the killing of captive animals by FWC.”


ADMIN WARNING!
This video contains extremely graphic images and audio. Please only watch with this in mind. Please take caution.
FWC Officers Euthanize Pet Boa and 34 other Snakes
Video link: https://youtu.be/BuimdwINSzk

this is also yet another reason why i think keepers in FL, along with USARK-FL, should collectively band together and start trying to take these cases up to the US-SC and openly challenge this anti-science legislation and wanton and wholly unnecessary murders of non-human sentient beings

Full info on this issue from USARK FL:
https://usarkfl.wildapricot.org/news/13162309


From USARK FL:

FWC Officers Slaughter Pet Boa and 34 other Snakes on Holy Thursday

USARK Florida Calls on Governor DeSantis to ask for resignation of FWC leaders and the immediate end to forced euthanasia of captive animals by FWC

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Law Enforcement Officers showed up unannounced at a reptile facility in West Palm Beach and slaughtered 34 pythons and one pregnant boa constrictor. The pet Boa constrictor was misidentified as a python and, according to its owner Bill McAdam, executed via "nail gun to the head" by four FWC officers. The FWC officers also killed 29 Reticulated pythons and five Burmese pythons owned by Chris Coffee. Under prior directive from FWC, Coffee was forced to maintain the snakes in captivity for over a year since an arbitrary deadline had passed to rehome the animals.

Coffee had a large collection of both Reticulated and Burmese pythons, which were possessed legally with a "Conditional Species Permit," before FWC made that permit obsolete by passing "Prohibited Species" rules in 2021. Therefore, his animals should have been grandfathered in and exempt from the new regulations. Nonetheless, after the rules banning the snakes were passed, Coffee chose to rehome 120 of his pythons, but he was unable to disperse all of his collection before an arbitrary FWC deadline. In an effort to remain on good terms with FWC, Coffee notified FWC in good faith about a year ago that he was having difficulties rehoming his animals in the short amount of time allowed by FWC. He asked FWC for more time, believing that he had no choice.

FWC responded by raiding Coffee's facility, arresting him, and issuing him two charges for each Reticulated and Burmese python possessed, for a total of 72 criminal charges. However, rather than seize the animals, FWC officers told Coffee that he had to continue to keep the snakes in captivity and that he could not rehome or euthanize them or he would be arrested again. Coffee's life has been turned upside down and he is still on probation as a result of the charges that never should have been issued against him.

Coffee's pythons were maintained at the facility of Bill McAdam with FWC's full knowledge of their whereabouts for approximately a year, until FWC's raid and subsequent massacre on Thursday, April 7, 2023. On that date, coinciding with the observance of Passover and Holy Thursday, FWC officers Lex Corteguera, Jonathon Wright, Zach Beppel, and Christopher Ryan showed up to McAdams' facility, alleging that they had a report of an escaped Reticulated python in the area.

The officers said that they wanted to check to see if it was one of Coffee's snakes that had escaped. This turned out to not be the real reason for their visit. After Coffee allowed them into the facility, the officers began pulling snakes out of their enclosures and killing them, with what Coffee described as a sort of nail gun, on the floor of McAdam's facility. The device used to kill the snakes was likely a device called a "penetrating captive bolt gun." The FWC officers spent around four hours killing snakes, firing multiple shots to the heads of some snakes when it appeared that the first shots failed to kill them. When it was all done, they had killed 29 Reticulated pythons and five Burmese pythons, in addition to the misidentified Boa constrictor. The reptile community is calling this event the “Holy Thursday Massacre.” Social media posts on this horrific story have received tens of thousands of views.

Boas are legal to own in Florida and are among the most popular pet snakes. This Boa was ten years old, and gravid (the term for pregnant in snakes). According to McAdam, this Boa was a cherished pet that he had raised from a baby. Regardless of how you may feel about snakes, these were innocent, healthy animals and there were many alternatives to this unwarranted butchery. Imagine if these were dogs, goats, or horses. Would you be infuriated then?

Read more here: https://usarkfl.wildapricot.org/news/13162309

This is absolutely sickening- I'm trying to find the words.... & it's inexcusable. And what a "nice touch" that they entered under a false pretense. :rolleyes:

Folks- THIS is why we need USARK, & why we need to pay attention to the people we put in charge- including the people we put in office, because attitudes start at the "top".

Have read in other forums that this is not the first time that conditional species supposedly grandfathered have been seized from the owner and/or euthanized. This one made the news because the event was caught on video and because an animal not covered by the law was killed.

What it tells me is that if you have "grandfathered" critters in Florida, get them out of the state ASAP for their safety.

I don't quite understand this part:

"Coffee had a large collection of both Reticulated and Burmese pythons, which were possessed legally with a "Conditional Species Permit," before FWC made that permit obsolete by passing "Prohibited Species" rules in 2021. Therefore, his animals should have been grandfathered in and exempt from the new regulations. Nonetheless, after the rules banning the snakes were passed, Coffee chose to rehome 120 of his pythons, but he was unable to disperse all of his collection before an arbitrary FWC deadline. In an effort to remain on good terms with FWC, Coffee notified FWC in good faith about a year ago that he was having difficulties rehoming his animals in the short amount of time allowed by FWC. He asked FWC for more time, believing that he had no choice."

Why was an 'arbitrary deadline' (or any deadline at all) in place to rehome (I assume that means 'remove from Florida') animals that were 'exempt from the new regulations'? And why is the rehoming something that Coffee 'chose' if he was under order from FWC to do so (that is to say, that doesn't sound like a choice, bit the article calls it such).

Another question is why would it take a motivated person over a year to sell some snakes out of state? Chris Coffee has no ads up on Fauna, and no store according to a MorphMarket search, which are two great places to sell snakes. Bill McAdam has not sold a retic on MM since 2021 (and the last couple years sold only 2021 and 2019 hatchlings, so was still breeding them at that point), and has no ads on Fauna more recent than 2015.

This sounds like I'm victim blaming, which I'm not trying to do, but this doesn't all add up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum

I don't quite understand this part:

"Coffee had a large collection of both Reticulated and Burmese pythons, which were possessed legally with a "Conditional Species Permit," before FWC made that permit obsolete by passing "Prohibited Species" rules in 2021. Therefore, his animals should have been grandfathered in and exempt from the new regulations. Nonetheless, after the rules banning the snakes were passed, Coffee chose to rehome 120 of his pythons, but he was unable to disperse all of his collection before an arbitrary FWC deadline. In an effort to remain on good terms with FWC, Coffee notified FWC in good faith about a year ago that he was having difficulties rehoming his animals in the short amount of time allowed by FWC. He asked FWC for more time, believing that he had no choice."

Why was an 'arbitrary deadline' (or any deadline at all) in place to rehome (I assume that means 'remove from Florida') animals that were 'exempt from the new regulations'? And why is the rehoming something that Coffee 'chose' if he was under order from FWC to do so (that is to say, that doesn't sound like a choice, bit the article calls it such).

Another question is why would it take a motivated person over a year to sell some snakes out of state? Chris Coffee has no ads up on Fauna, and no store according to a MorphMarket search, which are two great places to sell snakes. Bill McAdam has not sold a retic on MM since 2021 (and the last couple years sold only 2021 and 2019 hatchlings, so was still breeding them at that point), and has no ads on Fauna more recent than 2015.

This sounds like I'm victim blaming, which I'm not trying to do, but this doesn't all add up.

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no it’s always good and fair to ask questions i think and i only have a couple of years under my belt so i can’t rightfully give a good answer for any of those, maybe someone else can but i would say 1) while FC and MM are most definitely awesome places to sell, buy and trade snakes, tbf they aren’t the end all be all of the industry and 2) i think some of the newer restrictions in FL prevent the selling or breeding of restricted snake species irrespective of if that species has been grandfathered in so perhaps this prevented either keeper from pursuing such channels to safely rehome the animals

because a key part of this case is that both keepers in question were trying to “remain on good terms” with the FWC whereas if it were me personally i would not be so idk, how you say, charitable or agreeable - in such a situation - so this might’ve be influencing there chosen course of actions as well - additionally MM/FC are v public so maybe too they wanted to disperse the collection in a more private way for some reason?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum

I don't quite understand this part:

"Coffee had a large collection of both Reticulated and Burmese pythons, which were possessed legally with a "Conditional Species Permit," before FWC made that permit obsolete by passing "Prohibited Species" rules in 2021. Therefore, his animals should have been grandfathered in and exempt from the new regulations. Nonetheless, after the rules banning the snakes were passed, Coffee chose to rehome 120 of his pythons, but he was unable to disperse all of his collection before an arbitrary FWC deadline. In an effort to remain on good terms with FWC, Coffee notified FWC in good faith about a year ago that he was having difficulties rehoming his animals in the short amount of time allowed by FWC. He asked FWC for more time, believing that he had no choice."

Why was an 'arbitrary deadline' (or any deadline at all) in place to rehome (I assume that means 'remove from Florida') animals that were 'exempt from the new regulations'? And why is the rehoming something that Coffee 'chose' if he was under order from FWC to do so (that is to say, that doesn't sound like a choice, bit the article calls it such).

Another question is why would it take a motivated person over a year to sell some snakes out of state? Chris Coffee has no ads up on Fauna, and no store according to a MorphMarket search, which are two great places to sell snakes. Bill McAdam has not sold a retic on MM since 2021 (and the last couple years sold only 2021 and 2019 hatchlings, so was still breeding them at that point), and has no ads on Fauna more recent than 2015.

This sounds like I'm victim blaming, which I'm not trying to do, but this doesn't all add up.

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I'm glad it wasn't just me- :confusd: but I assumed that maybe the writer was rather confused with what they were told? Anyway, it's still very disturbing. And why can't FWC tell the difference between a boa & the others- that suggests they were just enjoying their kill-mission a little too much.

I'm also confused by the awkward wording of that section. Did the FWC claim that he somehow undermined the grandfathering of his "pet" pythons by attempting to rehome them? Did they then give him the arbitrary deadline to sell them off?

I think this article from the Palm Beach Post is a little clearer:
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/...d/70100449007/.

As I understand it, Florida made keeping burmese and reticulated pythons illegal. They gave keepers a certain amount of time to rehome them. Chris Coffee failed to rehome his pythons in that time period. FWC issued him a violation which he ultimately resolved through Broward County's Misdemeanor Diversion Program which, importantly, required him to accept responsibility for the violation. FWC euthanized his pythons pursuant to whatever authority they have for euthanizing prohibited species.

USARK wrote the article and they argue the deadline to rehome was arbitrary and the pythons should have been grandfathered. I think they are litigating the issue and I imagine FWC would disagree. Obviously, euthanizing the boa was a mistake for which Florida will have to pay unless it's immune from suit.