Florida Approves First Black Bear Hunt Since 2015

New York Times

4 days ago

Florida will allow hunters to kill black bears for the first time in a decade, after state officials gave final approval to contentious new rules on Wednesday that critics say will effectively authorize trophy hunting.
With a unanimous vote, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved an initial hunt that will take place over three weeks this December, followed by annual bear hunting seasons that run from October through December.
Proponents say a regulated hunt has become necessary to manage the native Florida black bear population, which has rebounded after years of being threatened. In some parts of the state, there have been increasing reports of bears roaming into backyards and rummaging through garbage bins.
Opponents counter that the animals pose little threat to people, who have invaded bears' natural habitat with overdevelopment, and that the new rules will encourage hunters to kill bears merely to display them as trophies. The rules allow hunters to use chase dogs, bait stations and bows and arrows, all methods that critics consider inhumane.
This year's hunt, from Dec. 6 through Dec. 28, will allow up to 187 bears to be 'harvested.'
The state recorded its first known fatal bear attack in May, when an 89-year-old man and his dog were killed in a wooded part of Collier County, in Southwest Florida. Wildlife officials killed three bears in the area within a day after the attack.
Roughly 4,050 black bears are estimated to live in the state now, mostly in Southwest, Central and North Florida. In the 1970s the bears were nearly extinct in the state.
The commission has been preparing for a new bear hunt since December, directing its staff to seek public comment and write rules, but never to weigh in on whether a hunt was really necessary, opponents argue. They say that bear attacks remain extremely rare and that wildlife officials should focus instead on educating the public about how to deal with bears, including teaching residents near bear habitats how to secure their trash.
The commissioners were appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican. Last year, the governor signed a law that allows people to shoot a bear legally if they fear that the animal poses a threat to their home, family or pets.
Most states allow some sort of bear hunting, but Florida has not held a hunt since 2015. That hunt ended quickly after hunters killed more than 300 bears — out of a quota of 320 — in just two days. Some of the bears who were killed were nursing mothers and cubs, prompting a public backlash.
State officials have said that the use of bait stations in this year's hunt would allow hunters to be close enough to bears to be able to determine their sex, and to avoid killing mothers.
Before Wednesday's vote, commissioners heard from 167 people who signed up to speak about the proposal in the rural town of Havana, Fla., in Gadsden County north of Tallahassee. The meeting drew so many spectators that officials had to open an overflow room. Hunters wore neon orange. Animal rights activists wore black.
'The bears are causing problems,' said David Avant, who described himself as a sixth-generation Floridian whose family owns more than 1,000 acres in Gadsden County. Hunting, he said, is 'our family's tradition, and we demand to keep our Florida Cracker hunting heritage.'
Megan Sorbo, another lifelong Floridian, spoke against the planned hunt and called dog chasing and baiting 'particularly barbaric, as well as plainly unsportsmanlike.'
'The people of Florida have overwhelmingly told you that they do not want our bears to be killed,' she said. 'Just because you can have a hunt, does not mean that you should.'
The commission conducted an online survey earlier this year to gauge public opinion. It found that 75 percent of the more than 13,000 people who responded opposed the hunt. Commissioners gave preliminary approval to the plan the following week.