A Florida charter captain made one admission that left wildlife officials fuming

A Florida charter boat captain thought he could get away with a brutal attack.

But a viral video exposed his shocking behavior.

And a Florida charter captain made one admission that left wildlife officials fuming.

Social media post leads to animal cruelty arrest

Zane Garrett seemed to think stabbing a shark repeatedly in the head was something worth bragging about on social media.

The 26-year-old from Stock Island posted a Snapchat video showing himself brutally attacking a bull shark with what appeared to be a filet knife.

The caption on the disturbing footage read “Bro broke my rod.”

Someone who spotted the disturbing video contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to report what they had witnessed.

The concerned person filed a detailed report explaining what they witnessed in the video.

“Yes, to weapons for the 9-11 inch filet knife, yes to violent behavior for stabbing a shark repeatedly, yes to being concerned over them being dumb enough to post themselves committing a crime,” the tipster wrote.

The incident took place on May 22 at the Vandenberg Wreck site, located about seven miles off Key West.

What happened next would turn Garrett’s world upside down.

Charter captain’s lies quickly unravel

Wildlife investigators found Garrett at the Historic Charter Boat Row in Key West during their investigation.

When investigators first questioned him, Garrett denied ever stabbing sharks.

But when authorities showed him the Snapchat video, his story changed completely.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Garrett admitted when confronted with the evidence.

The charter captain initially tried to justify his actions by claiming it was a standard practice in the fishing industry.

Garrett told investigators that he “explained to the customers that this was the preferred method to deter sharks from stealing their catch.”

He claimed the stabbing was meant to “scare” other sharks away from the area.

But authorities weren’t buying that explanation.

The real motive behind the shark attack revealed

Under further questioning, Garrett’s true motivation came to light.

The charter captain confessed that he repeatedly stabbed the shark out of pure “revenge” because the animal had stolen his fish.

Garrett admitted he knew the brutal attack wouldn’t actually deter the shark or kill it.

“I asked Mr. Garrett if he thought that the repeated blows would eventually kill the shark, to which he replied, ‘No. It takes a lot more to kill a shark than stabbing it in the head,’” investigators wrote in their report.

The confession got even more disturbing from there.

Garrett bragged that he “did a lot more killing” of sharks with firearms and “has stabbed sharks and/or killed sharks without harvesting them onto his boat many times in the past.”

This wasn’t an isolated incident of poor judgment.

It was part of a pattern of animal cruelty that Garrett had been getting away with for years.

Fake captain faces serious charges

Garrett’s problems didn’t end with the animal cruelty admission.

While Second Nature Charters lists Garrett as a captain on their website, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission discovered he doesn’t have the required license to operate as a charter boat captain.

Officials said Garrett was recently “investigated for false representation” and actually works under another licensed captain.

So not only was Garrett brutally attacking marine wildlife, he was also misleading customers about his qualifications.

Garrett was arrested Thursday and charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a felony.

He’s being held in the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Key West jail facility on a $10,000 bond.

His arraignment is scheduled for June 26.

Wildlife officials condemn egregious act

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials didn’t hold back in their condemnation of Garrett’s actions.

“The careless cruelty displayed in this video is unacceptable,” FWC’s Major Alberto Maza said in a statement.

Officials described his actions as “egregious” and said the attack caused “excessive and unnecessary suffering” to the marine animal.

Major Maza praised both the anonymous tipster who reported the video and the investigators who tracked down Garrett.

“I’m proud of the public for reporting this senseless act and our officers’ work in identifying the subject and holding him accountable,” Maza added.

The case highlights the important role social media now plays in exposing wildlife crimes.

What Garrett thought was a moment worth sharing with friends became the evidence that led to his arrest.

The FWC encourages people to report wildlife violations through their Wildlife Alert app or by calling the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC.

The shark that Garrett attacked was released back into the water after the stabbing, though its condition remains unknown.

This case serves as a reminder that animal cruelty will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, especially when the perpetrator is foolish enough to document their crimes on social media.