Despite hours of impassioned pleas from dozens of residents and environmental advocates, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which met in Sarasota, gave a thumbs-up to a proposal to lift the current ban on bear hunting in Florida, a move that will likely serve as fodder for late-night TV hosts.
The commission is appointed (and in some cases reappointed) by Governor Rick Scott and thus is stacked with people who, according to their bios on the FWC website, have profited either off real estate development just like that which infringes on remote bear habitat, employed in other ventures not known to be in harmony with nature, or are just avid hunters.
The only commissioner to vote against it was Ron Bergeron, who was appointed by former governor Charlie Crist in 2007.
“This is a very, very tough decision,” he said. “We need to evaluate, take our time a little bit here.”
State officials proposed the hunt as a method of "management" after encroaching human civilization in wooded areas began to attract bears in regions like north-central and southwest Florida as well as the Panhandle. Yes, there were incidents in which bears harmed humans, and typically the animals that cause harm are euthanized.
Black bears encroaching into residential areas is the result of residential developments sprawling further and further into forested areas just as the state's black bear population appears to be bouncing back after years of conservation efforts.
In 1994, to help the state's bear numbers grow after 20 years of legal hunting shrank the population to the low hundreds, the state closed down bear hunting. And now that the state's bear population has grown, they think it's time to cull their numbers by letting hunters go to town on them with crossbows and guns, starting with a week-long period at the end of October.
A limited number of permits will be issued to in-state hunters at $100 a pop, and out-of-state bear hunters for $300.
After the hunt was initially proposed, the FWC received 40,000 responses, according to the Tampa Bay Times, 75 percent of which urged the commission to reject the proposal.
The overwhelming majority of public speakers at Wednesday's hearing shared that sentiment. Some offered emotional pleas about the bear population's emotional intelligence and susceptibility to pain as well as the potential for orphaned cubs. Others cited science, including research suggesting trap-and-release is a much more effective way at keeping human populations and bear populations separate.
One speaker said claiming the bear population is out of control is just an excuse for hunting enthusiasts to go out into the woods and make like Teddy Roosevelt for the sake of vanity.
“Let's face it. This is no more than a trophy hunt. Just a way to get a new head on the wall, a rug on the floor or a paw as a paper weight," said Linda Harrison. "Bears are not the problem. People are the problem. Carelessness with garbage disposal is the primary reason for bears to come from the woods in search of food. If a person chooses to live in a wooded area ... then they must do what is necessary to ensure their safety and the safety of the bears, whose land they chose to build on.”
Others said the state doesn't have enough data about the bear population to determine whether a hunt wouldn't cause their numbers to dwindle to critically low numbers.
“One of the things we teach our students is having good scientific evidence," said Peggy St. James, a teacher from St. Petersburg. "And our count is not up to date.”
Others pointed to some of the commissioners' hunting backgrounds as a possible conflict of interest.
“Is it at least slightly possible that based on the fact that members of this commission are themselves hunters and own canned hunting operations, and that there is a conflict of interest?" said Anthony Rogers Wright, speaking on behalf of the nonprofit Environmental Action. "And if there is even a perception of this said conflict, is it not warranted to hold off on this hunt until we deal with this issue and until you listen to the people of Florida? ...For the sake of integrity, and veracity, you must cease from using specious reasons to rationalize this hunt — like public safety. Be straight with your [constituents] and call it what it really is: a kill-for-thrills trophy quest.”
Although an accurate census of the state's bear population hasn't been conducted since 2002—another is scheduled for next year—advocates for a hunt said the bear population is out of control.
Chuck Echenique, a hunter who aided in the creation of proposal, admitted that humans are a part of the problem.
“I think we can all agree that there is a problem with development in Florida and we can all agree that that problem isn't going away soon,” he said. “What this commission is here to do is manage our natural resources to the best of their ability.”
Critics complained that the so-called nuisance bears that are wandering into people's garages and swimming pools aren't the same bears that will be targeted in the hunt, which will take place in remote wooded areas.
There is already a backlash against the decision. A new Facebook page posits that a lawsuit is warranted to get money back on the "Conserve Wildlife" specialty license plates that collect money to, well, help sustain the Florida black bear population.
