FWC institues provisional ban of fox & coyote penning

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) voted last week to prohibit the practice of fox and coyote penning at least until it reconsiders the issue in June.  FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said he leaned toward an outright ban of the practice, stating "I'm not sure I'll support the draft rules when they come back," Barreto said. "I don't see any sport in the animals' having no escape. I personally don't agree with the practice."  The Humane Society of the United states welcomed the decision to crack down on the cruel practice:

"We thank Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Chairman Rodney Barreto and the commissioners for their leadership on fox and coyote penning," said Jennifer Hobgood, Florida state director for The HSUS. "Controlling these facilities has long proved next to impossible — escape isn't the point of the game. We urge the commission to enact a complete ban when it revisits the issue in June."

President of HSUS Wayne Pacelle also addressed the issue in a post at his blog, noting that one man who spoke to the commissioners drove more than 300 miles just to tell the commission that he was a Florida citizen and would not tolerate cruel fox pens.

Calls to end fox and coyote penning to be heard tomorrow

An article in yesterday's Tallahassee Democrat describes the horrific practice of fox and coyote penning and the reasons that it should be abolished in the state of Florida.   The Humane Society of the United States has described the practice where trapped foxes and coyotes are released into fenced pens where there is no escape where they can be ripped apart by dogs in staged competitions.  Transportation of these animals can also spread disease and parasites, such as rabies, distemper and tapeworms.  Aside from the disease risk, the pens amount to little more than a circumvention of animal fighting laws.  A family that lived next to one of the pens started the website Training Not Torture that describes in detail the cruelty they witnessed.

Just this past November, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ("FWC") arrested 12 individuals for purchasing and possessing live foxes and coyotes for use in pens.   Now, FWC is considering how to deal with the pens and has scheduled a meeting for input from the public on Wednesday, February 17th at 8:30 at the Franklin County Courthouse in Apalachicola, Florida.  The fox pen issue may be heard starting around 10:00, but those who are interested in attending our encouraged to arrive early and let the FWC know that the practice should be banned outright. Information about the meeting:

What:  FWC Meeting
Where: Franklin County Courthouse, 3rd Floor Courtroom, 33 Market Street, Apalachicola, FL 32320
When:  Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 8:30 AM

In addition to attending the meeting, HSUS is encouraging individuals to contact their state representative and senators to request that they ask FWC to ban the pens.  You can also call the FWC commissioners' line and express your opposition, asking that they please ban fox and coyote pens: (850) 488-4676.

For additional information, please contact Jen Hobgood, Florida State Director, The Humane Society of the United States. jhobgood@humanesociety.org or (850) 386-3435.

Florida Coastal students win national animal law moot court competition

Congratulations to Angelina Zon and Joseph Grant from Florida Coastal School of Law on winning the 2010 National Animal Law Competitions at Harvard Law School last weekend.  From the Florida Coastal Law School's website:

A Coastal Law team won the National Animal Law Moot Court Competition held this weekend at the Harvard Law School. The brief writers/oralists were Joseph Grant and Angelina (Angie) Zon. Avery Sander was the Team Manager and Adjunct Professor Nick Martino coached the team. In winning the championship the Florida Coastal team out-paced over twenty teams from law schools such as Harvard, the University of Washington, Lewis & Clark, South Texas, Louisville, Michigan State and Pace. In addition to winning the championship, the Florida Coastal team also placed second for the Best Brief Award. The President of Florida Coastal's Animal Law Society, Julie Hodges, was instrumental in supporting the team.

  Read more about the competition here and here.

Florida wildlife watching brings in $3 billion a year

Tampa Bay Online reports that more people travel to Florida to watch wildlife than any other state.  The visitors bring in more than $3 billion to the state and support 19,000 retail jobs.  Furthermore, one in six Floridians participate in some form of wildlife watching.