As Bear-Human Conflicts Continue to Rise, Florida is Eyeing a Possible Bear Hunt As Early As This Fall

As Bear-Human Conflicts Continue to Rise, Florida is Eyeing a Possible Bear Hunt As Early As This Fall

Approaching the 10-year anniversary since the Sunshine State last sanctioned a full-fledged bear hunt, the state’s Wildlife Commission is once again toying with the idea.

As bear-human conflicts continue to rise in Florida, residents are calling on state officials, including the FWC, for solutions. Despite instituting stand your ground laws for bears last year, the problem has not surprisingly, solved itself yet. With over 4,000 black bears spread across Florida, population levels are a far cry from the lows of approximately 500 bears recorded back in the 1970s.

As population levels swell to nearly five times the required minimum objection levels in some bear units, officials remain calculated in their steps as it pertains to instituting another bear hunt.

After hunters downed nearly 300 bears in a weekend, the 2015 hunt was labeled as something as a slaughter by those that oppose it. With a target of removing 320 bears statewide at the time, state officials had to step in and shut things down prematurely.

Amid the backlash that overshadowed the 2015 hunt, the anti-bear-hunting lobby has only grown stronger in Florida, leaving biologists to plan the perfect hunt as if to appease the watchful eyes of the opposition.

In another case of walking on eggshells rather than standing firmly upon sound science, Florida’s bear hunt finds itself in somewhat of a political nightmare. Despite providing over $2 million dollars for bear-proof trash cans as something as a peace offering, the fancy receptacles have done little to curb conflicts.

On the heels of a state ballot measure that was approved by 67 percent of voters to enshrine fishing and hunting rights for Florida residents, the question remains whether the anti-hunting lobby has been stifled enough to approve a hunt.

With nearby Louisiana offering residents their first bear hunt since the early 90s, the Bayou State’s recent success should serve as a blueprint for Florida’s Wildlife Commission. 

Florida officials tabled the idea of a bear hunt last month, but have said that, if they go through with it, the system will look much different than the 2015 installment. 

“The way it is actually on the books now, to where it is a tag system, they would only sell the tags for the number of bears they wanted to harvest,” Brad Lowery, the president of the Florida Bow Hunters Council said. “So it wouldn’t create the circus atmosphere that came out of the first hunt.”

As we head into the month of February, the pressure is on Florida’s FWC to make the call on the looming bear hunt decision.