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Last year in December, a Florida man named Brian Waddill brutally beat a shark to death at a Brevard County beach. The Melbourne resident's brutality towards a lemon shark that he had captured came to light when a security camera from a nearby restaurant caught him in the act. The footage spread like wildfire on social media, and Waddill was eventually arrested in April of this year.
Court documents filed in July revealed that Waddill was exempt from jail time and instead was placed on supervised probation. While on probation, he was ordered to take a shore-based shark fishing course and make a donation to the Brevard County Zoo. He is also not allowed to go fishing during this time.
Brian Waddill beat the lemon shark to death with a hammer
On December 22, 2022, a 34-year-old man named Brian Waddill was doing some fishing at the Bicentennial Beach Park in Indian Harbour Beach. According to witness reports and surveillance camera footage from a nearby restaurant, the man allegedly caught a lemon shark, but instead of letting it go, he beat the fish to death using a hammer.
The later released camera footage and witness reports successfully identified the man, who was sent a court summons but chose to ignore it, thereby leading to his arrest on April 14. He was released after being held on a $500 bond and was hit with two charges of misdemeanor, a violation against the harvest, landing, or sale of sharks, and a failure to return a prohibited species unharmed.
Keep in mind that although shark fishing is allowed in Florida, 28 species of the fish are protected, including the lemon shark. It is, therefore, illegal to harvest or even catch a lemon shark. According to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report, witnesses saw Brian Waddill beating the shark in the head with a hammer, before ripping apart its gills with the other side of the hammer.
The surveillance video of Brian Waddill engaging in the butchering of the lemon shark went viral online and supported these witness statements. The man allegedly stopped his torture of the animal after noticing himself attracting attention and tried putting the shark back in the ocean before leaving the scene. The carcass of the dead shark was washed away by the waves and was never found.
Brian Waddill was not jailed, but according to July court records, he was placed on a 12-month supervised probation, during which, he will not be allowed to go fishing. Additionally, he was also charged with a fine of $412, which is to be paid by June of next year.
Certain special conditions were also imposed by the court, under which Brian Waddill was ordered to pay a $250 fine to the Brevard County Zoo and was to undergo psychological evaluation and resulting treatments, if any, within the next 11 months. He was also mandated to take a shore-based shark fishing course conducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Lemon Sharks receive their name from their yellow-brown skin, which is used as camouflage in their natural environment, which is usually tropical and sub-tropical regions with sandy waters. They are not solitary animals and are known to live in groups but are not particularly aggressive to humans.
