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Florida Wildlife Officials Support Black Bear Hunts
April 16, 2015
Black bears are closer to being placed on the state’s wildlife hunting calendar for the first time in more than 20 years.
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission agreed Wednesday to allow hunting for black bears during one week this fall, due to a growing number of bear and human conflicts across the state. The commission made the decision after hearing more than two hours of comments for and against the proposal.
The hunt, which is planned to begin Oct. 24, will be formally set at the commission’s June meeting. The hunt will last at least two days, with the timeframe shortened as quotas are reached in different regions of the state.
“Of the 41 states that have black bears, 32 of them already allow hunting in some form or fashion,” said commission Vice Chairman Brian Yablonski of Tallahassee during the meeting at Florida A&M University. “And all those states have managed to do it in a way that is sustainable and that works to preserve and keep a healthy, thriving bear population.”
Speakers opposed to reviving bear hunts told commissioners that the proposal won’t reduce conflict between the animals and humans. Instead, opponents contend the state should consider relocating problem bears and that people need to be held more responsible for leaving out unsecured food and trash that attracts bears.
Jennifer Hobgood, a wildlife abuse campaign manager with the Humane Society of the United States, said the goal of reducing the state’s bear population by about 20 percent a year is unsustainable without knowing the actual number of bears in the state.
“The FWC may cite calls to the agency as an index of public tolerance, but such a narrow assumption fails to account for Floridians’ genuine support for bear protection and for non-lethal conflict mitigation programs,” Hobgood said.
Florida has an estimated 2,500 black bears in four regions — the eastern Panhandle, Northeast Florida, east-central Florida and South Florida — where the hunts would be conducted. Each area had more than 200 bears by a 2002 estimate.
The agency is undertaking updated bear counts that should be available for two of the four regions this summer, which will allow the agency to adjust harvest numbers, said Diane Eggeman, director of the commission’s Division of Hunting and Game Management.
People attending the meeting Wednesday were greeted on the Florida A&M University campus by about a dozen protesters, including one in a bear suit.
Leslie Carlile, a retired middle-school teacher and a proud “Florida cracker” from Tallahassee, said the state should consider alternatives, such as sterilization of bears, as the state’s growing human population will continue to encroach into wildlife areas.
Proponents claim the hunt will help conserve the overall black bear population.
Allan Tucker, a hunter from Tallahassee, said the increase in conflicts is a “direct result of the social experiment called halting bear hunting.”
“We have created a generation, or multiple generations, of welfare bears who are no longer scared of humans, but instead look at humans as a place to get food,” Tucker said.
National Rifle Association Southeastern Regional Director Al Hammond said the state needs to employ all options to manage the bear population to both lower interactions with humans and reduce vehicle-bear collisions.
Hammond also suggested the state lower the hunt permit fee from $100 to $50 for Florida residents.
“We truly don’t have a track record of what the harvest will be, and we do want hunter participation,” Hammond said.
The permits are $300 for non-Florida residents.
There would be a one-bear-per-hunter limit, with daytime hunts prohibited within 100 yards of any game-feeding stations. Hunters would be allowed to use bows, crossbows, muzzle loading guns, rifles, pistols, revolvers and shotguns.
Commissioners said the high profile nature of the proposal has only heightened efforts to clamp down on people leaving trash and dog food unsecured in communities encroaching upon wildlife habitat.
Commissioner Liesa Priddy of Immokalee said approval of the hunt will not decrease other efforts to manage human-bear conflicts.
“I’d rather see more bears in the environment and hunting than the amount of bears we’re euthanizing, because we’re bringing them into the neighborhoods,” added Commissioner Ron Bergeron of Fort Lauderdale. “I don’t think any person should have the right to endanger their neighbor.”
The proposal, which would set a “harvest objective” of about 200 black bears, is intended to reduce the risk of dangerous interactions between bears, which were removed from the state’s threatened list in 2012, and the state’s growing population.
The state agency claims the bear population has been steadily and rapidly growing the last 15 to 20 years.
Black bears were placed on the state’s threatened list in 1974, when there were between 300 and 500 across Florida. At the time, hunting black bear was limited to three counties. In 1994, the hunting season was closed statewide.
Meanwhile, the state has recorded a 400 percent increase in bear-related calls over the past decade.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: Protesters gather outside the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting in Tallahassee Wednesday, sowing their opposition to a proposed black bear hunt in the state. Photo by Tom Urgan, NSF, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
18 Responses to “Florida Wildlife Officials Support Black Bear Hunts”
We invaded all the animals territories & game trails We are the trespassers but pushing all blame and trouble to any person or wildlife that clicks in thoughts at the moment. They belong here just as much as the people, Thur my eyes and Native American’s across this land we share and have grown to help & respect all who live and walk this great land we call home. Sometimes we must hunt to bring balance back to harmony. But must be regulated Thank you.
I love how these people talk about how opening hunting will result in the bears becoming extinct. You mean, just like the Deer that are at all-time high populations? Or like turkeys, that are at all time high populations? If you don’t like hunting, DON’T HUNT!! Leave the management of the wildlife to the Professionals, who ALL agree that hunting should be opened.
If I had a problem with the bear I would move. But I don’t have any problems with them whatsoever and they don’t have a problem with me. But it does seem you have some common sense and it seems you know how to use it with your tips you gave. Maybe others will get the idea and use them. But if you decide to move anyway yourself please let me know I will be glad to help you.
@ Lynn…… Really?? I agree with DM maybe you should MOVE.
I mean who would want to live around them. Just read i’ve included some tips for you…..
BTW…..GOOD LUCK WITH THE MOVE
If you see a black bear:
• Stay calm. Often the bear is simply passing through the area.
• Do not run away. Walk calmly towards a building or vehicle and get inside.
• If you have children and pets, bring them inside too.
• Once indoors, observe the bear. Did it move on or did it stay on your property? If the bear stayed, what was it doing or eating?
• Encourage the bear to leave. Bang pots and pans, or blow an air horn or whistle. (The more stressful a bear’s encounter with you, the less likely it is to come back.)
• If the bear was able to get food (like garbage or bird food), or if the bear tried to get food, you will need to remove or control the item that attracted the bear.
• If a bear is in a tree, leave it alone. Remove people and dogs from the area. The bear will usually come down and leave after dark when it feels safe.
• Once the bear leaves, remove the attractant and assess your property for other possible attractants like garbage; dirty barbecue grills; bird or pet food or fruit or berries from your trees or bushes.
• It is possible for a bear to return even though you removed the attractant. Bears commonly return to places where they have found food. Once the bear does not get food, it will move on.
population control of the bears would be helpful. There are plenty of ways to manage the over population of bears and other species other than stalking and killing. Maybe the hunters could hunt non living beings or something….i dunno.
well seems like population control would be the human thing to do…theres plenty of veternarians who could get the job done without a bullet to the head. Hey…are we still human???? i mean shootin and killin and stalkin these innocent bears for over producing is just plum cruel….gosh hope me doctor aint no hunter…ekkkks!!!!
@ Lynn
(they were here first, you built your home in their yard)
instead of HUNTING – do your part – MOVE & let the bears have THEIR home back
PROBLEM SOLVED
Guess it’s over now boo-boo
Not native to Florida? You need to do your research. Coming in your yard? Your not in their yard? Wow. They were here first. You built your home in their yard. We are pushing them out and their food sources are being depleted because we are destroying their habitat. There are steps that can be taken to insure the safety of everyone. But no one wants to be bothered. Mankind’s answer to everything is to destroy it. So I guess Pooh Bear, Yogi and Boo Boo and Smokey the Bear will not get to live happy ever after. And when their gone? Well we all will have their stuffed bodies, heads and oh yes that beautiful bear rug to look at. Oh and by they way I know how dangerous they can be. But I would rather learn to live with them than without them.
They are coming in OUR yards. We are not in theirs. Give me a break. Bear are not native to this area. Do your research and if you don’t have them in your yard stay out of it. Go hug a tree but be careful that’s not Winnie The Pooh in the top of it.
This bear hunt issue will end up being about money, how much will license and special permit generate for the state in income. It does not matter what the public wants or does not want, it will be end up being, will it be profitable for the State. That will be the ? consider?
Maybe the hunters should stop hunting everything until the point that these black bears and all the other animals multiply and overrun us and are in our roads, yards etc. Then all of you that are against this might change your tune.
I know this is a hot topic for everyone. The ones for it and against it. Me? I’m against it. I hate to think of these wonderful creatures being destroyed. We are crowding them out of their home, so it is only natural that you will see more and more of them. You have to be careful when you live in places where there are animals. You know there are bear, bobcat, coyotes, panther and other wild creatures. So use your head and use safety measures to prevent harm to yourself as well as the animals. But in this day and time people want everything tied up in a nice package with a bow. They want to live in wild places but please don’t expect them to have to put up with the wildlife. That is just to inconvenient. I never go out my door without looking around and listening to my surroundings. I have been bless to see many, many wild creatures over the years. I raised my son to be observant as well. Not only for wildlife but for the much more dangerous humans. That is what I worry about…humans. They are the ones wanting to hurt you, not the wildlife. They just want to live.
Hunting wild bears won’t affect garbage bears.
How many human lives have been lost to black bear attacks in Escambia County? The answer is none. Leave the bears alone. We had one in the neighborhood the other day…a big one…he saw me and ran away. I wish we could insert photos in the comment section…that was a BIG bear!
If there are so many black bears that they’re having to euthanize them, what’s the difference in that and euthanizing them with a hunting rifle. The meat, like deer is edible, and the fur/hide/pelt can be used for many things.
Plenty of more important things to start a crybaby group over.You got military vets. (HEROS !!!!!!) who get paid peanuts and treated as second class when they come home from war and this is the best you can protest about ???? Who in their right mind would rather waste TAX MONEY to sterilize bears vs. COLLECTING MONEY to have hunters take care of the problem ?????
Bear Burgers, nuff said