$5,000 Reward Offered for Help Nabbing Teens Who Dumped Shark in Swimming Pool

PETA Calls On the Public for Help After Wild Animal Likely Killed by Chlorinated Water

For Immediate Release:
January 27, 2016

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Just weeks ago, a local resident spotted two teenage boys dumping a 5-foot-long blacktip shark into a backyard swimming pool. After calling the state wildlife agency, the resident and her husband returned the suffering, comatose animal to the ocean, although authorities believe that his body was so damaged by the chlorine in the pool that he likely didn’t survive. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the incident but has yet to make any arrests in connection with the case.

That’s why PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the culprits.

“It takes an appalling disregard for others’ suffering to yank a sensitive wild animal out of his ocean home and then dump him into a pool of poisonous, chemically treated water,” says PETA Director Stephanie Bell. “PETA is urging anyone with information to come forward immediately, before these culprits hurt anyone else.”

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 888-404-FWCC (3922).

For more information, please visit PETA.org.