A man caught on video intentionally tormenting and killing a mother duck and her ducklings near North University Drive in Pembroke Pines is now the target of a police search, with detectives saying the suspect is believed to frequent the immediate commercial area. The disturbing footage, recorded on August 30, shows the man walking through a neighborhood near 1290 North University Drive, stomping on the birds as one duck tried to crawl under a fence line and another ran from him before he appeared to kill it.
The Pembroke Pines Police Department posted about the case on social media, with lead detective Priscilla King asking the public for tips that could help identify the man. The videos were first posted to a local neighborhood watch app before spreading further, according to WSVN 7News. The station reports that anyone with information can contact Pembroke Pines police directly or reach out to Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS, with tipsters eligible to remain anonymous and potentially collect a reward of up to $5,000.
A Busy Corridor Known for Its Retention Ponds
The 1290 to 1300 block of North University Drive sits along a busy commercial corridor near Northwest 13th Street, an area lined with family restaurants and retail strip centers next to residential neighborhoods, according to 1290 WJNO. Shared drainage ponds common to commercial plazas in the city tend to draw local duck populations, which is likely why the birds were in the area at all.
Whether the ducks involved were wild or a managed nuisance species like the non-native Muscovy duck remains an open question, but it may not matter much legally. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has clarified that while Muscovy ducks are subject to federal control orders regarding population management, all duck species and urban birds in Florida remain fully protected from intentional torture and inhumane killing under the state's anti-cruelty statutes.
Felony Charges Carry Steep Penalties Under State Law
Intentionally tormenting or killing an animal in Florida constitutes third-degree felony aggravated animal cruelty under Florida Statute § 828.12(2), a charge that carries up to five years in prison, fines as high as $10,000, and a mandatory minimum fine of $2,500 along with required psychological counseling or anger management treatment, according to the Florida Senate's Online Sunshine statute records.
The legal stakes for a conviction have grown steeper in the past year. Florida's Dexter's Law, which took effect on July 1, 2025, added enhanced sentencing multipliers for aggravated animal cruelty convictions, barred sealing or expunging such criminal records, and mandated a public animal cruelty offender registry that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement began maintaining on January 1, 2026, according to the Brancato Law Firm.
Not the First Such Case in Broward County
This is not the first time surveillance footage has driven a duck cruelty investigation in South Florida this year. In January, Fort Lauderdale police opened an aggravated animal cruelty investigation after home surveillance video showed a juvenile chasing and stomping a wild duck to death on Southwest Eighth Avenue; authorities located the child and a parent in February with assistance from child welfare officials, per Local 10 News.
Pembroke Pines police have also shown a pattern of pursuing felony charges once video evidence surfaces. In a case Hoodline covered, officers arrested a delivery driver on aggravated animal cruelty charges after video captured him throwing his dog onto pavement outside a local supermarket on June 25. And Broward County prosecutors have not hesitated to stack charges in severe cases: in April, a 41-count felony case involving animal cruelty and evidence tampering was filed against an Oakland Park resident after 18 dogs were seized from a home, a case Hoodline also reported at the time.
Anyone who spots an injured bird in the area can also reach regional wildlife rescue resources, including the South Florida Wildlife Care Center in Fort Lauderdale, the Sawgrass Nature Center & Wildlife Hospital in Coral Springs, or the state's FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-3922. For now, the man in the video remains unidentified, and Pembroke Pines detectives are counting on someone in the neighborhood recognizing him.
