A bear hunt is set to take place this December—the first in Florida in about a decade. The state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission gave final approval for the plan at a meeting this week. But many environmentalists say they’re concerned about what the hunt could mean for the state’s black bear population.
There were so many people at the hearing that there were two overflow rooms. The attendees’ affiliations were usually clear from their T-shirts, such as the Sierra Club or the North Central Florida Dog Hunters Association. Community leaders and members of the public took to the mic to share their views.
“Bears belong in their natural habitat. And encounters should be the exception and not the norm.”
Gulf County Commissioner Sandy Quinn says increased bear sightings have alarmed county residents.
“That’s why Gulf County supports FWC’s recommendations for a regulated bear hunt and for proposed methods of take,” Quinn said.
That’s a view David Avant, a life-long hunter who lives in Gadsden County, shares. He says he thinks the question of bear hunting shouldn’t be open to public comment at all.
“It should be based on biology and not heartstrings," he said.
Avant says he’d like to see bear hunting enshrined in the state constitution.
“I’m here because I’m telling you that bears are causing us problems," he said. "We’re going to solve ‘em if you can’t. So, we stand our ground here in Gadsden County and I appreciate your time. Let us hunt ‘em with dogs like we always have for the last 200 years. It’s our family’s tradition.”
The final rules include a bag limit of one bear per permit, with 187 permits issued this year. They allow bears to be killed near game feeding stations on private lands. Starting in 2027, the rules will allow dogs to be used. Commission staffers say a phased-in approach will provide time to train the dogs.
But cattle rancher Lauren Jorgensen says while she’s a longtime hunter, she has concerns about the plans for this hunt. She attended a landowners’ meeting over the weekend --
“Talked to a lot of hunters. To a person, every one of them opposes this hunt. I want you to know that," she said.
Kate MacFall with the group Humane World for Animals worries that the use of dogs and some of the other proposed hunting methods could cause bears to die slower, more painful deaths. She urged commissioners during the meeting to rethink those plans.
“Please, please remove the cruelest practices: hounding, baiting and archery," she said. "It’s much harder to take them away later.”
MacFall wasn’t alone in her concerns about rules that will allow hunting with bows and arrows and, in the future, hunting with dogs. It was a frequent point made by hunt opponents during the meeting.
FWC Chair Rodney Bareto did not directly address those criticisms, but he says he thinks the agency’s process for developing its rules was a careful one.
“I want the public to know this is not like a run and gun, you know," he said. "We make decisions based upon science. We look at our professional staff. Look at our professional staff with over a 100-and-something years of professionalism right here.”
The wildlife commission voted unanimously in favor of the hunting plan. The first hunt will start on December 6th and last 23 days. Hunts are slated to recur every year.
