Mothballs Poison Skimmers, FWC Hunts Culprit

0:00It's April 21st, TV news today starts now. AI-powered and ready. I'm Cory with the story. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers are probing a shady setup on St. Pete Beach where hundreds of mothballs got dumped every. Few feet along the sand near Lido residences on Gulf Boulevard. They suspect it was a deliberate move to scare off black skimmers. Those threatened shorebirds nesting right there. Another Brian Ferguson hit the scene Monday afternoon and figured the mothballs aimed to push the birds away, but it flopped hard. A colony of a couple hundred skimmers just chilled inches from the toxic balls unbothered. Beachgoers caught a whiff first, spotting the mothballs everywhere and calling it in. These things pack heavy pesticides like naphthalene, straight poison for birds, people, even kids, mistaking them for candy. Legal outdoors, regulated by feds and state, with fines up to $10,000. Volunteers and advocates joined Ferguson to scoop them all up.

1:01Monday, but by Tuesday morning, fresh ones pop back up. Folks like Sandy Denton confirmed it, saying whoever's behind this hit the beach again overnight. Official stress mothballs are for indoor closets only, never for wildlife, and they're ramping up the hunt to nail the culprits before more harm hits. Those nests or passers-by.