Florida man who bought a pet fox ‘beat animal to death’

A Florida man who made headlines last year after he and his then-girlfriend bought a pet fox for $600 is now accused of beating the animal and stuffing it into a garbage can.

Brandon Race, 32, and his former girlfriend, Jessi Ladd, bought the Russian red fox from a breeder in Indiana last year and raised it in their Palm Beach, Florida, home.

But it was revealed during a domestic violence arrest last month that he was accused of kicking the 11-month-old pet fox and throwing its dead body away, police say.

Race was arrested on February 20, a day after officials received a call from his current girlfriend claiming he had hit and choked her, according to a police report.

Brandon Race, 32, allegedly beat his pet fox to death in Palm Beach Shores, Florida, last month. Race and his ex-girlfriend bought the Russian red fox from a breeder in Indiana last year

Race was arrested on February 20, a day after officials received a call from his current girlfriend claiming he had hit and choked her, according to a police report. Race’s girlfriend told police they were fighting after Race told her the pet fox was dead

The woman told police that the couple had gotten into an argument after Race called her to tell her that their pet fox, named Swyper, had died.

The police report states that the girlfriend told officers that Race ‘kicked the fox and hit her multiply [sic] times’ because the animal was ‘running around the house’.

Race told his girlfriend that he had buried the fox, but when police arrived, they noticed a strong odor coming from the side of the building, arrest documents say.

It was there that officers found the dead fox in a bag inside the garbage can. Race admitted to police that he had thrown the fox into the bin.

Race was charged with domestic battery by strangulation in connection to an altercation with his girlfriend but faces no charges in the death of the fox, according to the police report.

The fox’s death is still under investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

The police report states that the girlfriend told offers that Race ‘kicked the fox and hit her multiply [sic] times’ because the animal was ‘running around the house’. Race is pictured above with his ex-girlfriend shortly after they bought the fox

Race and his ex-girlfriend Ladd bought the fox for $600 last May from a breeder in Indiana. Swyper’s parents were freed from a fur farm when it closed, and gave birth to her shortly after.

The former couple fed the fox puppy food or their own leftovers, while chicken hearts, beef, eggs and Quorn were reserved as special treats.

When MailOnline interviewed Race and Ladd last year, Race said the fox had ‘free roam’ of their 900-square-foot house and was very friendly with several of the couple’s friends who come to visit, including one who regularly brings along two pit bulls.

The waste management worker said: ‘Swyper sleeps in the bed with me and my girlfriend and, if not there, the highest place she can find for her naps.

‘If I’m coming to bed Swyper usually follows and settles down at the end of the bed, although when she was younger she would sleep on my head.

‘I would compare her behaviour as similar to that of a ‘cat on drugs’ due to the hyperactivity throughout the day.’

Race said at the time that Swyper could be very destructive, forcing him to tape up kitchen cabinets to keep her from getting in.

Race told his girlfriend that he had buried the fox, but when police arrived, they noticed a strong odor coming from the side of the building, arrest documents say. After the fox was found in a nearby bin, Race told police he had put it there

Race and his ex-girlfriend Ladd bought the fox for $600 last May from a breeder in Indiana. Swyper’s parents were freed from a fur farm when it closed, and gave birth to her shortly after

The couple kept Swyper healthy by taking her to the vet for canine vaccinations and regularly going out on walks.

Mr Race said: ‘I take her outside in the fresh air, she loves the outdoors and rolling in the grass. I have to keep her on a lead, as that’s Florida.

‘All my friends come over and play with her. Her birthday is on April 24, so we might do a little birthday thing for her and invite other people in the neighborhood.’

Ladd said the fox required ‘more attention and activity’ than any pet she’d had previously.

Animal charities advise against keeping naturally wild animals as pets, and advise anyone planning to do so to conduct thorough research.

A spokesman for the Animal Welfare Institute said: ‘As intriguing as it may seem to own a fox, we strongly discourage the public from acquiring wild species to keep as pets.

‘Dogs and cats have been domesticated for thousands of years; not so with wild species such as foxes.

‘Their needs are complex, they still maintain many of their wild characteristics, and they pose a potential threat to people and other animals due to the risk of bites, scratches, and disease transmission.

‘It is inhumane and unsafe to keep a wild animal in a home, and so we encourage the public not to engage in this latest fad.’