The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is expected to vote Wednesday on the final rules of a proposed bear hunt. That comes as a group of environmentalists is filing a lawsuit they hope could stop future hunts.
Katrina Shadix of Bear Warriors United says her group is arguing the FWC shouldn’t have taken bears off its threatened species list.
“We allege that the FWC improperly de-listed the bears in 2012," she said. "And they did this in an incorrect fashion because when you de-list a species, you’re supposed to take into account threats to habitat and future threats to habitat – which the FWC did not do. And we all know that Florida is facing a crisis right now with deforestation and urban sprawl.”
The hunt is slated to take place this December after about 10 years without one, then potentially become an annual event.
