Florida wildlife officials to hold series of meetings about bear hunts returning to state
Florida wildlife officials will hold a series of online meetings in March and April about the possibility of a return to bear hunting in the state.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Executive Director Roger Young said Wednesday that the first meeting, open to anyone "who wants to provide feedback" on a potential bear hunt, will be held March 13.
Three more will be held in April. Young, who addressed the issue during a commission meeting at Florida State University, said dates of the April meetings had not been set.
Bear hunting has long been a controversial issue in Florida, but calls have increased for wildlife officials to approve the first hunt in a decade. Supporters say, in part, a hunt could help better manage bear populations as the animals interact with humans and point to a voter-approved ballot measure in November that enshrined hunting and fishing rights in the state Constitution.
Opponents have argued that hunting doesn't reduce human-bear interactions and say the state should use non-lethal options to address bear populations. They say unsecured trash continues to be a lure for bears on residential and commercial properties.
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is halfway into a 10-year bear management plan, with a focus on education and making available bear-proof trash containers. But commission members in December directed staff to bring forward proposals for a possible bear hunt.
The proposals are expected to be completed by a May commission meeting, giving staff members time to compile data from ongoing studies about bear populations and gather public input.
The last hunt, held in October 2015, was projected to last up to a week. Instead, it was called off after two days as the bear death count quickly reached 304.
Commission officials at the time acknowledged being caught off guard by the success of the hunters.
The state estimated Florida had more than 4,000 bears in 2015, and the population is known to be growing. Meanwhile, the agency receives more than 6,000 calls a year about bears.
In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that bolstered self-defense arguments for people who kill bears on their property.
The law requires shooters to notify the commission within 24 hours of bears being killed. Shooters are prohibited from possessing or selling bear carcasses. Legal immunity isn't available to people who provoke or lure bears.
Similar bills were filed in previous years but did not pass the Legislature. But the 2024 proposal, sponsored by Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, and Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, gained traction after Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith said his rural community was "being inundated and overrun by the bear population." Shoaf and Simon represent largely rural districts that include Franklin County.
