Rancher loses sheep to coyotes, but law limits him fighting back

In full camouflage gear, a double-barrel shotgun across his lap, Jack Dandridge waited among the tall weeds in the gathering darkness for the killers to appear. It wasn't long before he saw a silhouette move silently away from the trees and trot toward the open field under the massive power transmission lines. Dandridge drew a bead with the 16-gauge but held his fire. As much as he itched to pull the trigger, to avenge his loss, doing so would be against the law — the killer wasn't on his property. He watched as his chance slipped away. Weeks later, as Dandridge and his wife, Marian, slept in their home on Dry Creek Ranch Road, a marauder returned. The next morning, they found the bloody evidence. One victim lay dead, huge chunks of flesh torn from its left haunch. A second staggered from shock and gaping wounds. It has been like this for more than two years, and the Dandridges are sick of it. Coyotes have become more prevalent in Florida in recent years, moving south from the Panhandle and showing up even in urban beach communities. For some people, they evoke an exotic charm, a taste of the Old West in the Sunshine State. Such allure is lost on ranchers like the Dandridges. On Wednesday, standing next to a deep hole he had just dug to bury his slaughtered 120-pound ewe, Dandridge saw his livelihood under attack. "This is our money going into the ground," he said...read more