Black Bear Hunt Rules on State's Agenda

As the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission continues to hammer out details on how to reduce conflicts between bears and people, residents will find they still have time to give their input.

The commission is meeting in Tallahassee this week and welcomes in-person comments. For those who can’t make the trip, comments are also accepted online. The commission’s three-day meeting runs from Tuesday through Thursday on the campus of Florida A&M University.

At issue is a management plan that’s designed to help limit conflicts between bears and people. It includes a push for bear-resistant garbage containers, removal of bears that pose a threat to human populations and stiffer penalties for feeding bears. It also contains a segment that paves the way for a limited bear hunt within the state to help manage populations.

See Also:

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• State Approves Black Bear Hunting
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• Dog Stops Bear Attack on Florida Teen

The bear hunt proposal is the most controversial portion of the proposed management plan. During this week’s meeting, commissioners will review proposed rules for such a hunt that are being pitched by wildlife staff. Those rules include limiting the number of bears that could be killed statewide, setting permit regulations and fees and setting season length and timing, among other issues.

While state wildlife officials have argued bear hunting can help better control the population and reduce encounters, not everyone is convinced.

In early April, opponents of the measure posted a banner over Interstate 4 in the Orlando area imploring their supporters to “Tell FWC – NO BEAR HUNT,” the Orlando Sentinel reported.

The commission agreed with the proposed bear management plan’s outline back in February, which included the bear hunts. This month’s meeting is meant to hammer out more of the details. Final approval isn’t expected until June. If that approval comes, the state could witness its first bear hunting season in about 20 years this October.

Florida’s black bear population has grown in recent years, along with the number of complaints related to the creatures. The state has witnessed several recent bear attacks.

The state outlawed black bear hunts in 1994 when the population of bears in Florida dwindled from an estimated 11,000 at the turn of the 20th century to less than 500 in 1974. The black bear population is estimated to be above 3,000 at this time.

In 1990, the commission fielded 99 complaint calls related to bear. In 2014, that number rose to 6,312, down slightly from the 6,667 fielded in 2013, the agency noted.

For more information on the proposal or to enter a comment into the record, visit the FWC online.

Stock photo of a black bear courtesy of FWC

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