He said he was just trying to help a pelican. Florida wildlife officers called it abuse
A Louisiana man turned himself in to police in the Florida Keys this week after a video of him trying to pry a research band from a brown pelican’s leg at an Islamorada marina in February was shown to state wildlife officials.
Robert Hovey Jr., 33, was arrested Monday on two misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. He was released later in the day on a $4,000 bond.
His attorney, William Heffernan, has filed two motions to dismiss the charges. The attorney said Tuesday that a veterinarian has viewed the video, which Hovey posted on his Instagram page, and concluded the bird “was more than properly handled and safely released.”
The video was recorded on Feb. 7 at Robbie’s Marina on Lower Matecumbe Key. Pelicans gather there because one of the attractions is feeding fish to the large tarpon and the nurse sharks that hang around under the finger docks.
Hovey, from Forestdale, Louisiana, was in the Keys with friends Feb 5-9 for a wedding, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission arrest warrant.
The video shows a man, who FWC investigators say is Hovey, approach a group of pelicans and grab one. As the bird struggles and pecks, Hovey tries to pry open the metal tag on its leg.
A woman’s voice is heard telling Hovey he is hurting the animal, and he replies, “No, this is hurting him,” referring to the band.
The woman replies, “I know. He’s been numbered, like a Nazi boy,” according to the video.
According to FWC Investigator Christopher Mattson’s report, the video was seen by officers with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, who viewed it Feb. 12 on Hovey’s Instagram page for his charter fishing business, Troll Naked.
The video, which was titled, “If you know me, you know I was not messing around,” has since been removed.
Louisiana officers forwarded the video to the Florida wildlife agency, according to Mattson’s report.
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Mattson called and texted Hovey on Feb. 18 but did receive a response, Mattson said.
Hovey finally texted Mattson back on Feb. 21 after a Louisiana officer went to his house to tell him about the investigation into the video, according to the warrant information.
In Hovey’s text, he told Mattson: “I didn’t know things have gotten to this point. Let me get an attorney and I will have him contact you,” the report states.
Because of the novel coronavirus, Hovey was unable to go to the Keys to face the charges until Monday, when Monroe County allowed visitors into the island chain for the first time since March 27.
Mattson said in his report that the video shows “this brown pelican is clearly in distress, being tormented by its captor.”
During a March 6 conference call that included Hovey, Heffernan and Mattson, Hovey said he was trying to help the bird and that he never saw a pelican with a metal band on its leg. He also told Mattson that he is “an avid waterfowl enthusiast,” according to the report.
Heffernan says nothing shown in the video “adds up to any criminal offense.”
Hovey is an active duty member of the United States Coast Guard. He’s stationed at Coast Guard Station New Orleans where he is a rescue swimmer with the rank Aviation Survival Technician, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Lexie Preston, spokeswoman for Coast Guard District 8, which includes Louisiana.
Rescue swimmers’ duties include jumping from helicopters to save people in the water. It’s not immediately clear how long Hovey’s been in the service, but he is a non-commissioned officer.
The Coast Guard is cooperating with the investigation, Preston said Tuesday night.
“The crimes AST2 Hovey are charged with are not consistent with the Coast Guard’s core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty and do not represent other Coast Guard men and women who proudly serve their communities,” Preston said in a statement.
