Why has Florida wildlife agency launched an investigation into Charles Ross' viral opossum catapult video? Details explored

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has started an investigation against the online creator Charles Ross after a video shared on social media showed a live opossum being launched into the air using a homemade device. The clip spread fast and led to strong public response.

Charles Ross is known online as RossCreations. He has millions of followers across platforms like YouTube and Instagram. He often shares prank-style videos. This time, viewers said the video crossed a line.

The video caused concern and reactions from animal safety groups and regular viewers. Many people contacted authorities. After receiving several complaints, Florida wildlife officials confirmed that they were reviewing the case.

What happened in Charles Ross' viral video?

As reported by Dexerto, the video was posted on Instagram on November 30, 2025. It showed a device that appeared to be a homemade launcher. A baited trap was attached to it. Upon hitting the bait, the opossum, the device fired it several feet into the air. Having landed, the opossum was observed to make his way out of the field.

According to the viewers, the animal was lame. It was suggested by many users that the animal might have been harmed. The video was annotated with a letter W. The post received a lot of backlash because it was as if Ross was supposedly injuring a wild animal to entertain himself.

A community comment on the post described that the legislation prohibits the act of inflicting pain or harm to animals without justification. It was later reported that the video had been taken off certain platforms.

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Why did Florida Wildlife officials launch the investigation against Charles Ross?

According to TMZ (December 9, 2025), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated that it knows about the video. According to the agency, there were several complaints being raised by the people.

FWC said that it does not look lightly upon violations of wildlife. The agency affirmed that it is working with Sarasota County State Attorney Office. Authorities are analysing whether the acts demonstrated in the video violated state wildlife or animal cruelty laws.

The commission encouraged people to come forward with any information on wildlife violation and contact them through the Wildlife Alert Hotline. They further reminded people that killing wild animals without any valid reason can be classified as a crime according to Florida Law.

There has no announcement of charges yet. The status of opossum has not been verified by the officials yet. They have not indicated the target duration of the investigation. At this point, Charles Ross has also not issued a statement on the case publicly.

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