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Humane Society Calls For Stop To Proposed Bear Hunt
June 23, 2015
The Humane Society of the United States on Monday delivered more than 90,000 names of people who, the group says, want Gov. Rick Scott to halt anticipated approval of the state’s first bear hunt in more than two decades.
Scott, however, is deferring to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on the proposed hunt, which has the backing of the powerful National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida.
Laura Bevan, the Humane Society’s southern regional director, said Monday opponents also intend to address the commission before a final vote on the issue during a commission meeting Wednesday in Sarasota. But she couldn’t say if the group might take legal action in the future.
“This is the battle, not the war, we’re going to keep opposing this,” Bevan said. “When it starts, every hunter that paid their $100 for in-state (permits) — or $300 for out-of-state — is going to flood into the woods of Florida and kill bears.”
Commission Executive Director Nick Wiley, in a release Monday, said reviving the hunt is a way to manage the bear population rather than a response to “recent bear attacks and escalating human-bear conflicts.” Wiley wrote, “We have in past years invested and continue today to invest much staff time and resources in working with communities to help people understand what they can do to reduce or avoid bear conflicts, primarily by securing garbage and removing food attractants.,”
The NRA and Unified Sportsmen, in backing the first bear hunt in Florida since the state closed the hunting season statewide in 1994, pointed to concerns with the “explosion in the bear population and the growing danger to human life.”
NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer wrote to commission members on June 10, saying, “Hunting is a management tool that FWC had used successfully in the past and continues to be an effective means to control wildlife populations that endanger the public.”
by The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
18 Responses to “Humane Society Calls For Stop To Proposed Bear Hunt”
Hunt the hunter
Lone Chief, you can’t hunt politicians. No matter what they have done
Humans do not have a divine right to destroy every living wild creature on this earth. Laws need to made to protect the black bear habitat. People need to be prosecuted for leaving their trash out that attract bears. Bears are losing their habitat. Humans are taking their habitat. Do we have a right to do this? Humans need to get a control on their own population – it is doubling every 25 years. If we continue destroying forests, destroying oceans and trashing earth’s resources, we will have no wildlife left, only humans and trash. THE BLACK BEAR IS A KEYSTONE SPECIES. The answer is not killing every wild critter gets in our way but co existing with wildlife, respecting the bears, and the forests, Black bears only do what they naturally do, keep the forest in check, create habitat for other species and have been around for thousands of years-humans move in and say “get rid of the bears” – not fair. In the future, no wild animal will have a chance on this planet. Everyone needs to stand up to this horrible new law – killing bears is NOT acceptable.Leave the Black Bear alone – it is an innocent animal and deserves to live – it is part of the earth’s eco system – the Human race is NOT A PART OF THE EARTH’S ECO SYSTEM – we are destroying the planet on a daily basis.
JP is spot on! Every species of wild animal are territorial. Ever noticed the 2 Mocking birds squaring off in the front yard? They’re not dancing I promise. It is true we as humans have cut down the woods and built our homes, business’s, and such beyond what I feel is actually necessary (but who am I). It was God in the book of GENESIS that said we were to have dominion over the beasts of the field. And God that said to kill the rams and calfs and bullocks for sacrifice and to eat. While I know ” Bear” is not on that list, I feel rather confident giving the situation a bear attacks the child of a HUMANE\PETA person they won’t blame the contractor that put a subdivision in a place where an animal used to call home. I could be wrong though! These hunts are as before mentioned CONTROLLED\REGULATED, just like having an alligator tag, to control over population not to exterminate.
I’m with the Human Haters. (Not really )
May be that the Purge Movies are a glimpse into the future.
Nah just people being people.
Maybe there should be a controlled “liberal” management program , and a bear season. Just a thought.
Great points JP. Your response was well though out and has a lot of common sense observations. Some bears will need to be eradicated so that everyone can thrive – bears and humans alike. Hunting is one way to do it.
JP – I own guns and also say no to bear hunts. I had a bear track in my yard back in March, but I would not shoot it. Privileged to have it pass thru my yard
Boy, how I just love the human race!! The real danger is the critters on 2 legs, not 4. How about a hunting season for scumbags, gangbangers, rapists, thieves and muderers?
I see online that black bear is good, if slow roasted where the grease can drip away. I’d like to try it. People need to remember these bears are hazardous, & if left to their own devices will spill over into populated areas (remember the projects next to the grocery store in Cantonment?) & have to be killed anyway.
If the bleeding hearts lived out here like we do & had one roaming around the front yard, they might think differently. They need to let FF&WCC do their jobs and worry about other animal issues, mainly domestic animal abuse & homeless animals.
I wish deer & bear meat were for retail sale, grocery store prices for meat (beef, chicken , pork) have gone insane.
I say LET THEM HUNT!
I think this bear hunt is wrong. While it is only a few days of hunting, I hate seeing these bears eradicated which will happen. I would have signed this petition if given the opportunity.
The argument that I am hearing from the anti hunting bunch is that killing a few bears in the forested areas doesn’t prevent bear problems in housing areas.
Housing and other human habitation has expanded into areas that in the past is natural bear habitat, so there will be bears there obviously.
We just can’t keep uninformed people from feeding or otherwise leaving things to eat out that attract bears, like bird feeders and garbage. Grills smell like something that bears have to check out.
When the best deep woods habitat has reached it’s bear supporting capacity the young bears have to move out and find a new area to live. If they stay in the area where they were born and raised the young male bears will probably be killed by older males.
Reducing the number of older male bears in the deep woods leaves room for younger bears to stay in the area reducing their need to wonder out into unknown areas and encounter humans.
Bears do have different personalities, but generally will not hang around humans unless there is a strong attractant like food.
About the only cause of untimely death of bears in Florida has been vehicles that does result in the death to some humans and a destroyed vehicle. In the years since bear hunting in Florida stopped the population of bears has been increasing while the human population has exploded.
NRA involvement? The people against hunting are mostly also against all ownership of guns.
Here’s a novel idea: Let’s leave Wildlife Management to the PROFESSIONALS! All these concerns about bears being overhunted are ridiculous – just look at the populations of deer, turkeys and elk. All thriving due to the effective management of these resources that is funded by hunting license revenue. These Humane Society idiots don’t spend a nickel on wildlife preservation, but think they need to help keep Teddy Bears from being hunted.
Good for the Humane Society…..After all, we humans have invaded their territory. What do we expect from a wild animal? Better behavior than we as humans seem to be capable of????
A controlled bear management program is just that: management, not eradication. I’m curious about how many of those 90, 000 signatures are from folks in this state, or even of people who know anything about wildlife beyond what PETA and the National Humane Society tell them.
By all means Alex…let’s open up season on Humans. That should solve the problem. In reality, we will only have a hunt that last about four days. Very few bears will be taken.
The NRA really needs to stay out if this, I doubt they’re concerned with preserving the bear population.
Not the bear population that is causiNG conflicts,HUMANS. the hunting permits may very well cause an unbalanced bear population with the amount of car deaths.may drive the bears out of the deep woods onto lcoal highways. Guess with all the recent shark attacks,sharks are next