SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday approved a proposal to allow black bear hunting in Florida.
The vote came during a meeting held in Sarasota that attracted a standing room only crowd. Next year’s bear hunt is scheduled for October 24 through 30 and will be the first bear hunt in Florida in 21 years. It will be held on public and private lands throughout the state. Hunters will only be allowed to kill one bear per season and the bear must be a minimum of 100 lbs. During the hunt, no cubs can be present. If a certain number of bears are killed, the season could end early.
A permit will cost $100 for residents and $300 for non-residents.
The proposal ignited a passionate debate. The FWC said around 88 people had signed up to speak to the commission during Wednesday’s meeting. Many were against the idea of allowing bear hunting, but there was a sizable presence of people in support of it.
Bear hunting was previously allowed in Florida from 1935 to 1994. FWC wanted it reinstated because bear populations have recovered statewide and FWC believes that hunting will help control the population.
But, some are not happy with the idea. “It is immoral to talk about harvesting black bears. Shame on you for talking about harvesting black bears,” one speaker told commissioners.
“It’s not about population control, its not about bear human conflicts, its about hunters wanting to get another trophy,” said speaker Carol Abarbanell.
15-year-old hunter, Hanna Hodges, traveled from Tallahassee to speak in support of bear hunting. “I believe that there are people who don’t fully understand the hunter’s perspective… with the hunt we are bettering bear population to thrive,” she said.
“It’s not that the black bears are overabundant. The issue is that we have too many bears for the fragmented habitat that is available for them. Those bears have been centralized and localized to areas that they have outgrown,” hunter Chuck Echenique told commissioners.
The FWC meeting was held at the Sarasota Hyatt Regency.
