Local

Fake or real? Photo of dead coyote in Atlantic Beach causes stir

A local man who bragged on social media that he killed a coyote is now backing away from those claims. But some of his neighbors aren’t letting him off so easy.

For months Action News Jax showed pictures of coyotes at the beaches usually seen on home surveillance. Neighbors there believe they’ve been killing pets.

One man posted a picture and claimed to get revenge. He said, “Very good news for all the kitty cats in our neighborhood. I’m starting to get really good with my crossbow now. Finally got one in the dunes the other night.”

Some neighbors weren’t impressed.

“For someone to deliberately hurt them is just wrong,” said Jackie Stetson, a neighbor.

‘It’s kind of a shame,” said Sierra Humphreys, another neighbor.

Many Facebook users also didn’t like the post. One woman wrote, “if it wasn’t bothering you, why? I’ll say it time and time again, it was their land before ours.”

Action News Jax reached out to the man who posted it. He said he didn’t kill the coyote.

“I don’t even think the picture was in Florida,” Casey Jones said.

So why post it? He said he was just trying to stir things up, and to educate people.

“It’s not like I’m some crazy redneck is out to kill, I don’t even hunt deer,” he said.

FWC said hunting and trapping are allowed year round, on private property. Or if you see one in your yard, you can hire a professional trapper to come out and remove the coyote. The city said you can’t shoot a coyote within a residential area, unless the person felt they were in danger.

“And boast about it on social media, I think is wrong,” said Stetson.

Fake or not, many people don’t like this picture. And so far, we haven’t found any proof the animal was killed on one of our beaches.