Florida

New Law Could Be Introduced After Shark Abuse Cases Surface Online

After a video of a shark being dragged behind a boat led to several other videos featuring shark abuse surfacing, new legislation could be filed to better define Florida's wildlife laws.

Florida Rep. Alex Miller said a new bill could be introduced “if current law does not find this to be a prosecutable crime," according to News Service Florida.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the incident. It’s unclear where the filmed scene occurred.

Nonetheless, since that video gained national attention, video of a man using a shark as a beer bong and images of a shark in a pool have been thrust into the spotlight.

On Friday, officials announced they are looking into a video "that appears to show an MTV reality star shooting a hammerhead shark off the side of a boat."

It's illegal to "harvest" Hammerhead sharks in Florida, according to a News Service of Florida report. The state has size restrictions on sharks that can be caught. The limits apply to all but 12 shark species.

"It is unfortunate that it takes events like this to bring to light other cruel animal abuses that occur on our waters," Miller said in the post, adding that the prevalence of social media should result in more shark abuse cases becoming public.

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