OCALA, Fla. – Amid support from hunters and warnings of a “slaughter” from animal-rights advocates, state wildlife officials Wednesday moved forward with Florida’s first black bear hunt in a decade.
RELATED: Protesters in Riverside voice concerns about FWC’s proposals for potential black bear hunt
Before a crowd that spread into at least four extra rooms at the College of Central Florida in Ocala, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted 4-1 for staff members to return with rules for a December hunt that would be held in four parts of the state and could lead to as many as 187 bears being killed.
Hunters could receive permits through a lottery system.
“This is a very conservative harvest,” said Morgan Richardson, the commission’s director of hunting and game management.
Commissioner Gary Lester, who pushed for the vote, called the rules a “prudent, measured approach.”
George Warthen, the commission’s chief conservation officer, said the proposed rules were crafted based on responses from hunters and critics of the last hunt in 2015, when 304 bears were killed in two days after permits were distributed to anyone who paid fees.
“I believe we have some of the best, if not the best, data on black bear in the United States,” Warthen said.
Commissioners must still give final approval during an August meeting about issues such as setting the hunt as an annual event and the use of feed stations, bows and dogs.
Vice Chairman Steven Hudson, who voted against the proposal, made suggestions such as prohibiting non-Floridians from getting permits and said he had concerns about allowing people to hunt bears at feed stations.
But Richardson said the use of feed stations, derided by critics as baiting, could give hunters a better view of bears and result in a reduced chance of females being shot.
Bear hunting has long been a controversial issue in Florida, and nearly 170 people addressed the commission. The plans for a hunt were in the works before the commission last week confirmed an 89-year old Collier County man was the first recorded victim of a fatal bear attack in Florida.
Opponents of the bear hunt said Wednesday it wouldn’t reduce human-bear interactions. They said the state should expand the use of non-lethal options, such as bear-proof trash containers to help keep bears from being drawn to residences and businesses, and should increase land-conservation efforts.
“This isn’t conservation. This is state-sanctioned slaughter,” Wesley Chapel resident Chris Teodorski told the commission.
Kate MacFall, Florida director of Humane World for Animals, said after the vote she expects a legal challenge to the hunt.
Based on 2015 numbers, the state had an estimated 4,050 bears. Opponents of the hunt argued the numbers are outdated.
Hunt supporters, many wearing orange shirts, said a hunt could help better manage bear populations as the animals interact with humans. They also pointed to the “scientific” approach of commission staff members and dismissed concerns about a slaughter.
“Overdevelopment is contributing to the fragmentation of habitats, and active wildlife management is necessary,” said Gretchen Hoke of Rain Frog Ranch in Hillsborough County.
Supporters also cited a voter-approved ballot measure in November that enshrined hunting and fishing rights in the state Constitution.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods voiced support for the hunt and, highlighting a rural part of his county, said he thinks many human-bear interactions are not reported.
“They don’t call and report crimes. They take care of crimes themselves. And they’re sure not going to report their interactions with wildlife,” Woods said.
The hunt is planned to run from the first Saturday in December through the last Sunday in December, with future hunts held each year between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.
Staff members proposed a $5 entry fee for the permit drawing, with people who receive permits paying $100 if they are Florida residents and $300 if they are non-residents. The proposed rule changes call for applicants to be at least 18 years old and that only 10% of the permits could go to non-Florida residents.
The number of permits and lengths of future seasons would be based on factors such as female bear survival and mortality data that would include prior-year “hunting success rates.”
Hunting would be allowed within what are known as “bear management units” that have at least 200 bears.
The hunt is projected to be limited to 68 bears in the Apalachicola region west of Tallahassee; 46 in areas west of Jacksonville; 18 in an area north of Orlando; and 55 in the Big Cypress region southwest of Lake Okeechobee.
