{"id":54399,"date":"2017-12-13T05:03:48","date_gmt":"2017-12-13T05:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=54399"},"modified":"2017-12-13T05:03:48","modified_gmt":"2017-12-13T05:03:48","slug":"3-florida-men-charged-in-shark-dragging-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/3-florida-men-charged-in-shark-dragging-video.html","title":{"rendered":"3 Florida men charged in shark-dragging video"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">3 Florida men charged in shark-dragging video<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">3 Florida men charged in shark-dragging video:- Three Florida boaters seen in a viral video dragging a shark at a \u201chigh speed\u201d through the water \u2014 prompting outcries of \u201canimal lynching\u201d from some activists \u2014 were charged Tuesday with felony counts, authorities said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission news release said 21-year-old Michael Wenzel and 23-year-old Spencer Heintz of Palmetto, along with 28-year-old Robert Lee Benac of Bradenton, each face two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">Wenzel and Benac also face a misdemeanor count of taking a shark illegally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">Fox News previously reported that the video of the shark being dragged went viral in late July after a Miami sport fisherman criticized it on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">Eric Hovland, the Florida Aquarium\u2019s associate curator, said the video made his \u201cstomach flip,\u201d and he described it as \u201canimal lynching.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">\u201cIt\u2019s flipping and tossing around,\u201d Hovland said of the shark in the video. \u201cIt looks like it\u2019s even been roped by the tail. I mean this just wasn\u2019t hooked on a line and accidentally dragged. This was purposeful and tragic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">FWC Chairman Bo Rivard said he hopes the charges send a clear message that this kind of behavior won\u2019t be tolerated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">\u201cAs we\u2019ve 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,\u201d said Commission Chairman Bo Rivard in the statement. \u201cWe appreciate the patience and support of the public as our law enforcement investigators worked with the Hillsborough County State Attorney\u2019s Office to identify a number of serious violations that will be brought to the courts for adjudication. It is our hope these charges will send a clear message to others that this kind of behavior involving our fish and wildlife will not be tolerated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">Prosecutors in Hillsborough County are handling the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #000000\">\u201cThe State Attorney\u2019s Office is committed to holding these men accountable for having engaged in such senseless and unjustifiable animal cruelty. We thank the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for their work in investigating these crimes, and we stand with them, along with Florida\u2019s fishing and hunting communities, and all those who cherish our precious natural resources, in condemning the torture of our marine wildlife,\u201d said Andrew H. Warren, State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit in the statement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 8pt\">Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/2017\/12\/12\/3-florida-men-charged-in-shark-dragging-video.html<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"fb-background-color\">\n\t\t\t  <div \n\t\t\t  \tclass = \"fb-comments\" \n\t\t\t  \tdata-href = \"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/3-florida-men-charged-in-shark-dragging-video.html\"\n\t\t\t  \tdata-numposts = \"10\"\n\t\t\t  \tdata-lazy = \"true\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-colorscheme = \"light\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-order-by = \"social\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-mobile=true>\n\t\t\t  <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t  <style>\n\t\t    .fb-background-color {\n\t\t\t\tbackground: #ffffff !important;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t.fb_iframe_widget_fluid_desktop iframe {\n\t\t\t    width: 630px !important;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t  <\/style>\n\t\t  ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>3 Florida men charged in shark-dragging video 3 Florida men charged in shark-dragging video:- Three Florida boaters seen in a viral video dragging a shark at a \u201chigh speed\u201d through the water \u2014 prompting outcries of \u201canimal lynching\u201d from some activists \u2014 were charged Tuesday with felony counts, authorities said. 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