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Accused wildlife abusers may not face charges

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The video shows a group of people driving a boat at a high rate of speed, dragging a shark behind them. At this point, the Florida Wildlife Comission says they’re trying to identify the people in the video and where exactly it took place. (Photo: Facebook/WTSP)

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. A shark being dragged by a boat, another doused with beer and a third shot.

But the people behind the abuse in shocking videos that have made the rounds on the internet may not face charges.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials are investigating the videos of sharks and other wildlife, but to determine whether they can file the charges, they need to find out where the abuse took place.

“If you’re abusing an animal of any type, you should face some type of consequence for your actions,” said Fort Myers resident Sergio Santos said.

The footage left Santos in disbelief, and he wasn’t alone.

“I just really couldn’t believe someone would actually do that to an animal, drag them, I was baffled really,” Santos said.

It’s illegal to use guns or explosives to kill marine life in the state of Florida. Shooting them is allowed in federal waters.

But there should be justice for these sharks no matter where the incidents took place, Heather Barron, Hospital Director for the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife on Sanibel said.

“Any time I see people deliberately harming wildlife, you do have to sort of wonder, ‘what are they thinking?'” Barron said.

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