UPDATE: AHNow has been informed that violations of the Florida Marine Turtle Protection Act are not punishable by fishing license/privilege revocations/suspensions. Hard to believe, so we're looking into it.

For now, this petition is ON HOLD.

Travesty of Justice in Naples, Florida

The Naples (Florida) juvenile who mercilessly drove a hook through a loggerhead sea turtle hatchling and then cast the animal into the gulf as fishing bait accepted a plea bargain today, January 10 (2022), that requires just 24 hours of community service and a few other minor stipulations. The youth had been charged as a juvenile with a felony, but the Florida State Attorney in Collier County inexplicably backed off on the charges.

[VIDEO of Incident. Warning: Some viewers will find this highly distressing]

The defendant sat in the courtroom, frequently smirking during the brief procedure. Five of his classmates were in attendance, demanding justice for the turtle, who could have swam the seas for 70 or 80 years and whose species is threatened.

This travesty of justice is compounded by the fact that this 15-year-old has posted videos of himself harassing other sea turtles and posting on social media that the law doesn't apply to him. He also recently surfaced in a video of another wildlife crime, in which his companion throws a living fish off of a pier.

Since the state attorney failed to secure justice in this case, we are demanding the Florida Wildlife Commission revoke the defendant's fishing privileges and not allow him near wildlife until he turns 19 and successfully completes empathy training.

We have seen time and again how young men who perpetrate cruelty to animals are given just a slap on the wrist, when what they need is psychological help, empathy training, and most of all to not be allowed near animals until they have proven themselves to be trustworthy. Without intervention, the chances of such individuals committing further acts of violence are high.