“They put me in chains,” Louis Abbruzze said. “They locked my legs to my feet. What the hell is going on here? I was feeding animals. I didn’t kill somebody.”
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 77-year-old Jacksonville warehouse owner says a dispute over the cats he has cared for over the past 16 years ended with his arrest on a misdemeanor wildlife feeding charge.
Louis Abbruzze said he leaves his warehouse door cracked at night so seven cats can come inside to eat, sleep and get out of the weather.
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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers arrested Abbruzze on Sept. 15, accusing him of feeding raccoons.
Abbruzze denies intentionally feeding raccoons, saying the food is intended for the cats he considers family.
“These cats are not just cats,” Abbruzze said. “They’re my children.”
Abbruzze said he and his wife began caring for cats around their warehouse after losing their only son in 2010.
“The cats were a cure,” he said.
He said the couple trapped the cats, got them vaccinated and sterilized, and found homes for many of them. Seven cats remain at the warehouse on Youngerman Court, he said.
“That’s what kept my wife and I going,” Abbruzze said. “We found something that made us human again.”
Abbruzze said the dispute began about a year and a half ago, after the property’s homeowners association hired new management. He said the HOA told him he needed to close the door or face fines and possible legal action.
First Coast News contacted the HOA last week and this week for comment but had not received a response as of publication.
Abbruzze said FWC previously warned him about leaving food outside after officers raised concerns about raccoons.
He said he believed he was following FWC guidance by feeding the cats and removing the food if raccoons appeared.
“I started doing exactly what the FWC said,” Abbruzze said.
In a statement, FWC said officers were dispatched to the commercial property after complaints that a tenant was feeding raccoons. The agency said Abbruzze had already been cited for providing raccoons with food and access to his unit. FWC said feeding raccoons is illegal in Florida.
Abbruzze said officers returned Sept. 15 and arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of feeding wildlife.
“He says, ‘Now turn around and put out your hands,’” Abbruzze said. “Cuffed me. Put my cuffs on right there. I can’t walk. I’ve got a broken ankle. I’m walking with a cane.”
Abbruzze said he was treated “as a common criminal” during the arrest and detention.
“And I’m not. They put me in chains. They locked my legs to my feet. What the hell is going on here? I was feeding animals. I didn’t kill somebody.”
He disputes FWC’s account and said he does not intend to feed raccoons.
Abbruzze said he expects to return to court next week with his attorney.
The FWC says there are prohibitions around feeding certain species of wildlife. You can find more here. There is also information about securing attractants and coexisting with wildlife. A link to the rule is here.