The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is expected to vote next week on final rules that would allow a controlled bear hunt in December.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Bear hunting could soon return to Florida for the first time in more than 10 years. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is expected to vote next week on final rules that would allow a Wildlife officials said bear complaints have surged in recent years, with more than 4,000 Florida black bear s now estimated to roam the state.
That’s led to more sightings, more interactions and more concern from residents. “A lot of bears are getting run over in Calhoun, Bay and Franklin counties,” hunter Rodney Smith said. “They’re just flooded with bear complaints.” “It’s all about bear management,” he said. “It’s a tradition that kind of made Florida, and it was taken away because of a lack of management.”, the hunt would run for 23 days in December, with a limited number of permits issued through a lottery system. It would be the first legal hunt since 2015, when Florida briefly reopened bear hunting after a 21-year ban. That season was cut short after hunters killed 300 bears in just two days.is strong. FWC said it has received more than 10,000 public comments on the proposal, many of them against it. Critics like James Scott, with Speak Up for Wildlife, argue that hunting won’t improve public safety or reduce bear-human conflicts. “There’s no benefit to public safety,” Scott said. “Bear interactions have gone up because we keep building homes where bears live.”“We need to secure garbage, bird seed, dog food, things that attract bears, and also protect habitat corridors so populations can mix and survive,” Scott said. A constitutional amendment approved last year made hunting the state’s preferred method for managing wildlife populations. Separately, Florida law already allows people to shoot a bear without a permit if they feel threatened.Arkansas teacher charged with killing couple who were hiking in Devil’s Den with their kidsAngry crowd gathers at scene of fatal crash in Mississippi, injuring multiple firefightersWoman dies after car plunges into Gulf Shores retention pond2 shot, 1 arrested in Atmore shooting, authorities sayJudge orders temporary halt to construction at Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center
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