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FWC Eyes Bear Hunts, But Says Trash Is Real Culprit
February 6, 2015
Florida wildlife officials will propose a draft rule in April for allowing limited hunting of bears but say problems with bears in suburban areas stem from homeowners and businesses not properly taking care of garbage.
Thomas Eason, a division director with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told reporters Thursday during a conference call that bears are attracted to suburban neighborhoods because of easy access to food.
The commission on Wednesday directed its staff to move forward with plans to address dangerous interactions between humans and black bears. That includes proposing a draft rule in April that would allow hunting of bears, possibly as soon as this fall.
The prospect of bear hunts has stirred opposition from groups such as the Humane Society of the United States, which argue in part that killing bears in the woods will not solve the problems in suburban areas. During Thursday’s conference call, Eason said wildlife officials are taking a “conservative” approach that likely will include proposing a short hunting season and preventing the use of dogs in bear hunts. But Eason said hunting is only part of the effort to address the bear issue. He and commission Chairman Dick Corbett said bears are attracted to populated areas because of food that is available in unsecured garbage cans and Dumpsters.
Eason said hunting will not directly solve most of the conflicts between humans and bears but that it can help manage bear numbers.
by The News Service of Florida
Pictured: A black bear at the Wild Oak Farms Apartments in Cantonment in 2012. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
29 Responses to “FWC Eyes Bear Hunts, But Says Trash Is Real Culprit”
If you ppl who advocate killing these bears cause you only kill to feed your family are some truly cruel ppl. There has got to be another answer other than “I got me a big gun.” Let me go kill some bear. That is not the answer.
Hey,,, the bear in the picture looks kinda poor, ya’ll need to put more food in the garbage, more better food.
jeeperman”, Man has been here for as long as the other species I believe, I think he named them didn’t he?
Funny how for eons and eons all was in balance.
Then came along man and screwed it all up.
Take out the easy pickens garbage food source and mother nature will regulate the bear population to a ratio that will only support a certain number of bears.
government agencies never really solve anything, do they? This is not a bear problem, it’s a trash/garbage problem
I find the comments very interesting. There has been an explosion of the population of bears for the simple reason that there is no hunting season for them. The reason they’re raiding trash in suburbs isn’t b/c they have been pushed out of their territory, it’s b/c there isn’t enough food in their natural habitat to support their numbers. When they rely on trash for food, they feed, and breed.
Wanna solve your bear problems? Kill yourself or kill some of the bears.
@jeeperman your solution is too simple and reasonable. Unfortunately if FWC gives tickets to the property owner for attracting the bears to their property by not properly storing the trash, the property owner will stop calling FWC for fear of receiving a ticket. Then when their child is eaten or mauled while running around naked with a fistful of convenience store Krispy Kremes unattended in the yard they will blame that on the bear instead of their lack of accountability as a parent and filth as a person in general. A logically devoid version of the situation will be broadly spread by social media. Videos will be edited of a family closely resembling the Thompson/Shannon clan calling for the eradication of the bear population as the only possible solution and the simple idea of cleaning up after yourself will never emerge. Then large scale illegal hunting of the bear population will begin, fueled by a twisted version of virtue, with the culprit gladly admitting his action to friends and family who will reinforce them.
The bears have always been here. People moved into their area. Then we put food out in the garbage and get upset when they come to get it. Bear-proof containers for garbage will help. Stay away from the bears and make lots of noise when you are outside. That will help keep them away. I imagine when people are out mowing lawns the bear problem goes down due to noise, etc. Just a thought. I have lived in “bear country” and never had problems with them.
Those people talking about allowing hunting being the end of the Florida Black Bear need a dose of reality. If that were true, the whitetail deer would be extinct already, instead deer populations are at an all-time high. Similarly, elk and turkey have been restored to their historical ranges, there are now elk in Kentucky, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Where do you suppose the money came from for these efforts? From HUNTERS. Do some research, look up the Pittmann-Robertson Act on Google. Hunters do more for wildlife populations and habitat restoration than all the tree-hugging, tofu-eating bambi-lovers put together. Ever heard of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, or the National Wild Turkey Foundation? Those two HUNTER-BASED organizations have placed millions of acres into perpetual wildness. To bash hunting and claim to be an animal lover, while wearing a leather belt, and eating a steak is just hypocritical.
How sad. This will put an end to bears in Florida.
I’m sure some may cleaning their rifles while they typed responses. Wise up it’s always about the money. Also apparently you have never visited the dumpsters at the Apartments on 29 and seen the dumpsters overflowing, the scene of the slaughter of the bear in the picture above. So this cynic has wised up. I too was an avid hunter and become disgusted with the treatment of landowners property and the carnage left behind just so a set of horns can be placed on a plaque, if you treat nature and landowners with respect cudos to you. But exactly who is coming over to dinner for bear meat. Keep cleaning your guns but I think there is always and alternative to slaughtering a hungry bear. If you go to the mountains in Tennessee they have bear proof trash receptacles and they work when used properly.
@CW
Apparently you dislike hunters. Well, i dont hunt anything i dont feed my family. I hunt with a bow, no fancy sights, no baiting, no scent, no fancy finger padded gloves so i can text waiting for something to come along. We eat deer once a week all year and hog every 2 weeks. From March to October we eat fish at least once a week and intermittently the other months. What do you think your kinfolk ate before Publix and Walmart ? When another created tragedy happens and the gas & grocery trucks stop coming, you’ll run to people like me.
I’m sure “SPARKY” was cleaning his rifle while he typed his response. Wise up it’s always about the money. Also apparently you have never visited the dumpsters at Wild Oak Apartments and seen the dumpsters overflowing, the scene of the slaughter of the bear in the picture above. So this cynic has wised up. I too was an avid hunter and become disgusted with the treatment of landowners property and the carnage left behind just so a set of horns can be placed on a plaque, if you treat nature and landowners with respect cudos to you. But exactly who is coming over to dinner for bear meat. Keep polishing “sparky”.
Slum lords eating lobsters,thats the biggest laugh I read on this page. If you have a beef with garbage,GO TO CODE ENFORCEMENT.maybe the bums gadnt paid rent for a month and skipping out.then the landlord will be eating beans and peanut butter.as a landlord, i make the tenant pay all utilities.
I never saw where the FWC was advocating the eradication of black bears. They are simply looking to open a short hunting season to where winners of the permit lottery will be allowed to hunt bears. If you do not want to hunt bears then simply do not put your name in the hat for drawing the permit. The laws regarding black bears is more stringent then any other animal in the state of florida which has saw a dramatic increase in the bear population.
All the anti bear hunters, you obviously have never had an encounter with a bear. They do not belong in areas where people live. I cant think of anything a bear is good for. They destroy everything.
Maybe a nice rug or a fur coat? I think thats what their purpose is.
Hey Sparky,
If there is no easy pickins garbage, the bears will go foraging elsewhere.
Or starve.
“I have seen people throwing garbage and trash out of their car windows and dumping stuff in the woods.”
As a life long citizen of NWF, do not bring your carpetbagger ideas down here and force us to break tradition.
We have done the above for generations and will continue to do so!.
I take the bear’s side on this one. We keep expanding our range and pushing the bears and other animals out. There are so many buildings in Pensacola and land that was clear cut long ago that is just sitting there vacant while we continue to push outward.
The solution is all of the above. Trash containers wont solve the overpopulation in some areas of Florida. Florida black bears need a large range and are pushed into suburban areas when they are grown enough to be pushed out of the birth range by dominant adult bears, So hunting will help cut the competition in the woods and help cut the number of bears pushed into other areas where they find people and garbage. And if the agency were just interested in the money (“lining their pockets”) why would they have instituted the ban years ago? Wise up, cynics. Not everything in nature is Winnie the Pooh or Daddy Warbucks.
Maybe we ought to be hunting the people who can’t throw away their garbage correctly.
hmph. If you can’t be smarter than the bear, just shoot it.
If some of these slum landlords would pay for the trash to be picked up instead of using the rent monies for eating lobster and crawfish we wouldn’t have a problem with. Who do we report this non picking up of trash to. Called the trash people and all they say is the landlord hasn’t paid the bill and there is nothing they can do until it is paid.
Well, there goes the last of the remaining bears in the panhandle. Once the hunters get a hold of them they’ll be gone.
Bears are just being bears and seeking the easiest way to score a meal.
Many humans have intruded into their space and attempted to humanize them by wanting to make pets or friends with them.
Just bears trying to make a living.
The bears are innocent. The people need to keep the garbage up properly and not ever feed the bears. Ever since I’ve lived in NW Florida, I have seen people throwing garbage and trash out of their car windows and dumping stuff in the woods. If Bears did not have a purpose, they would not have been created. Even if evolution were true, the bears would have evolved for a reason. People KNOW better (if they are taught) than to do things that attract bears. Bears do NOT know better than to get food however they can. Please don’t make hunting bears okay. If they get to be a big problem, please relocate them to a national forest or somewhere where there are less people.
I think this proposal for limited hunting of bears is horrible. We move into their habitat and they are just doing what we all do, which is eat. I so agree with Tony when he says proper handling of the trash should be addressed not the eradication of the species. Humans have already taken enough of our wildlife to the point of endangering our environment. Just this week or last week, a picture of an eagle was posted on this website. The bird was almost extinct so let’s take this into consideration. I don’t want anyone harmed by these bears, but let’s look at another idea rather than hunting the poor things. To me it is just a quick, easy fix to a problem.
So when a bear comes to dine on the garbage, are the garbage owners fined for improper storage of said garbage?
I am very disappointed with the FWC on the handling of the bears in our county. Proper handling of trash should be addressed not the eradication of the species. Find the areas that are affected and install bear proof trash containers. I would gladly donate for that cause. Problem is that idea doesn’t line the pockets of the agency.
So maybe not totally untrue – but my sister in Milton has a HUGE problem with bears and her trash is 100% kept in the containers provided by her garbage collector. So the assessment is not completely accurate either.