Chris Coffee owned several Burmese and Reticulated pythons that he legally was permitted to keep until the change in rule in 2021. According to FWC, he should have been able to keep those pets for the length of their lives. He did work to relocate his pets outside of Florida and even made the mistake of requesting an extension of when he was supposed to "dispose" of the animals, despite FWC guarantee that pets were allowed to remain for their life. Chris was acting in good faith, believing the statements from FWC and in an attempt to remain on good terms asked for an extension to move the animals to their new homes. FWC responded with a raid. Coffee was charged with 72 counts (2 for each animal) and then told he was required to maintain the animals, he could no longer work to rehome or euthanize or he would be arrested again.

On Thursday April 6th, under the guise of confirming all snakes were accounted for, FWC showed up where the animals were required to be house to "confirm they were all there" and proceeded to open cages and kill them one by one. This was all captured on video. As they killed the animals, they smiled and posed for photos with the sometimes still alive and twitching bodies of these beloved animals. Animals that Mr. Coffee could have spent a year relocating, had FWC allowed it. Animals that Mr. Coffee could have arranged for them to have full lives, instead of being cut short on a concrete floor with a bolt gun to the head.

In the end FWC killed 34 pythons which were considered now illegal (despite the grandfather clause extended to all previously registered animals that was promised by FWC to every reptile owner in Florida) but in their blood letting frenzy, they also killed a perfectly legal gravid Boa Constrictor that was not even owned by Coffee. They could not even properly identify the species they were there to kill.

I am a certified euthanasia tech. I was trained to make sure that if I am in a position to end an animal's life, I make it the most painless and humane way possible. I had to attend classes over several days to get certified. I have worked in the shelter and rescue community for 28 years. I have assisted in over 30 raids and confiscations. I was not prepared for the carnage I saw in this video. I refuse to refer to these as euthanasias. These are executions. The staff was not even properly trained on the use of a bolt gun, in fact, we are privy to one of the officers being trained. The choice of a bolt gun is appalling because of the accuracy needed to maintain a painless death is next to impossible when restraining a writhing snake. It is reported that several animals required multiple shots to the head to die.

As someone who has assisted in many raids, I can not imagine standing there heartlessly killing someones animals in their home and on the floor so casually. No regard to the blood staining the floor, posing for pictures with the corpses like some trophy hunter. As someone who is in rescue and works cases with officials, I am always positive on my identifications. I double and sometimes triple check and I am a herper. I have friends that I reach out to when I need to be sure of a species to make sure it complies with law. I do a double check on everything and I am just relocating animals to where they are legal, I am not killing them. There are rules for euthanasia's that require a double check of a variety of things in many states as well that leaves the person euthanizing liable if they make a mistake. Clearly, FWC feels they are exempt from repercussions.

The overreach and rogue behavior of FWC needs to be stopped. Last year, again despite promises that animals previously permitted would be allowed to remain, several reptile owners, including Ty Park of Iguanaland (which is a zoo facility) had animals confiscated and in Ty's case killed. Ty had several animals, but other cases included reptile owners who had just 1 pet that SHOULD have been grandfathered in.

The hardest part about this is the lack of empathy for both the Mr. Coffee having to watch his pets slaughtered in front of him and their blood soaking the floor at his feet, the lack of empathy for the boa they "accidentally" killed and the lack of concern for the animals in general. Give them some damned dignity if you are giving them no other choice but death. You wouldn't slaughter dogs and cats like this in their homes for fun. People love their reptiles too. The absolute trauma of watching the "authorities" shooting pet after pet on your floor, their blood spreading, leaving the mess for you to clean all the while posing and smiling with their dead bodies.

I am not embedding the video here because of the graphic nature, but Chris Coffee did supply a video of a portion of the raid if you have not yet seen it. It is exceptionally graphic, you will see blood and animals being killed. There is no way to sugarcoat this. It is horrible. If you wish to view it, you can do so here. https://youtu.be/BuimdwINSzk

USARKFL is leading the charge against Florida FWC. They are asking that we express our displeasure at this overreach by contacting Governor Ron DeSantis and express outrage. If you are a Florida resident, please also reach out to your local state legislature representatives to express your anger.
Gov DeSantis
850-717-9337
governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com


Our hearts are with Chris Coffee and Bill McAdam as they process the loss of their beloved animals and pets.