UNION COUNTY, Fla. — Some volunteers who helped recover more than 80 dogs from three separate properties in Clay and Union counties are sharing their experience with Action News Jax, calling for state lawmakers to work on passing stronger animal cruelty laws during the next legislative session.
One of them is Kate MacFall, the Florida state director of the nationwide nonprofit Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States.
“It’s heartbreaking to see these animals in this condition. They’ve been living on these heavy chains, many with scars, some with injuries,” MacFall said.
MacFall told Action News Jax she went to the property in Clay County where the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Humane World for Animals found dozens of dogs believed to be involved in a dogfighting operation. CCSO has told us it can’t share the location of the property, but, among the dogs MacFall found abandoned in the outdoors, she found one dog who was missing a paw.
“I met him, and he’s an older guy, and that was particularly heartbreaking,” said MacFall, “these animals are, you know, in a bad way. But it’s also exciting that we’re rescuing them.”
Last week, Action News Jax told you when the Union County Sheriff’s Office shared it had made an arrest in this investigation after more than 40 dogs were found in two properties in Lake Butler. UCSO identified the person arrested as Drew Geer, who is currently being charged with felony drug possession and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
UCSO believes Geer could possibly face federal charges for animal cruelty and dogfighting connected to this investigation. The sheriff’s office told us the U.S. Department of Agriculture is taking the lead on this case, and, even though nobody else has been charged, more arrests are expected.
Florida laws give up to a year of prison time to those who are convicted of animal cruelty. Dogfighting convictions, in Florida, can lead to up to five years in prison. Earlier this year, two new animal cruelty laws went into effect in Florida. One of them, “Trooper’s Law,” makes it a felony to abandon a dog during a state of emergency. The other, “Dexter’s Law,” raises sentences for those convicted of torturing, mutilating and killing dogs.
MacFall believes Florida’s animal cruelty laws need to be made stronger, especially after seeing the conditions of the dogs found in Clay and Union counties.
“We need to strengthen these laws and give our law enforcement officers and prosecutors the proper tools to hold these criminals accountable,” MacFall said.
We called and emailed the USDA to ask how the properties in the dogfighting investigation are connected, what started the investigation and how many more arrests are expected. We’re still waiting for a response at this time.
On January 1st, 2026, a new animal cruelty database is set to go online through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is supposed to keep a record of the people convicted in animal cruelty cases.
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