Stop Florida From Spying on Wildlife Advocates

Speaking out for wildlife should not put your name into a law-enforcement search.

But records show that Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) employees repeatedly accessed sensitive personal information about people who criticized the agency and advocated for wildlife.

The searches used a restricted system that is only available to law enforcement and contains information including addresses, vehicle records, photographs and Social Security numbers.

The Miami Herald confirmed that FWC employees searched records belonging to 12 people multiple times since 2023, usually listing “criminal investigation” as the reason.

Subsequent reporting found that nearly two dozen environmental advocates had been searched.

FWC says the searches supported public safety and security planning after commissioners and employees received threats.

Real threats should be taken seriously and investigated.

But the agency has not publicly connected each person searched to a specific threat or explained the basis for every search.

Some people searched by the agency had opposed Florida’s black bear hunt or criticized the commission’s wildlife policies.

One advocate’s records were accessed 14 times by two officers in February 2024—more than a year before the bear-hunt debate cited in FWC’s defense.

Another advocate said she had never spoken at an FWC commission meeting.

Peaceful advocacy is not a crime or a threat and FWC has no right to treat advocates as suspects.

Wildlife agencies make decisions affecting bears, panthers, manatees and other animals held in trust for the public. This is not just a Florida issue. If this is allowed to happen unchallenged there, other state agencies may take more hostile approaches to advocacy that challenge their positions.

Public participation is a fundamental right. People must be free to attend meetings, challenge government decisions, and organize for stronger wildlife protections without fearing that agency staff are searching their private records.

FWC is unlikely to credibly investigate itself. These searches raise serious questions that only an independent investigation can credibly answer.

Please sign the petition urging Florida’s legislative leaders to order an independent investigation, disclose the justification for every search, hold public oversight hearings and establish enforceable safeguards against misuse of sensitive databases.

The petition to Florida’s legislative leaders reads: Direct an independent investigation into FWC’s searches of wildlife advocates’ personal information. Determine who authorized each search, whether it served a documented law-enforcement purpose and how the information was used. Hold accountable anyone found to have misused state databases, and enact safeguards ensuring that no one is investigated merely for peacefully defending wildlife.
_______

Source:

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/state/2026/07/29/fwc-defends-using-state-database-to-probe-critics-information/91062980007/