Nearly five months after a video surfaced showing a shark being brutally dragged behind a boat on the West Coast of Florida, three Florida men have been charged with felony animal cruelty.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office announced the charges late Tuesday following their lengthy investigation.
“As we’ve said since this video and other images came to light, these actions have no place in Florida, where we treasure and conserve our natural resources for everyone,” said FWC Chairman Bo Rivard in a news release.
The three men charged are: Michael Wenzel, 21, from Palmetto; Robert Lee Benac, 28, of Bradenton; and Spencer Heintz, 23, of Palmetto. They could not immediately be reached for comment.
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
