Florida’s first bear hunt
in decades begins today; protests are expected.
Take aim, hunters. Take cover, bears.
Florida’s controversial bear hunt, the first statewide harvest of the iconic species since 1972, starts today with bear-lovers and animal-welfare advocates keeping watch at tag stations where hunters must take their kills.
The first shot can fly at 7:01 a.m., 30 minutes before sunrise.
Protesters, frustrated by the state wildlife agency’s refusal to reconsider the hunt, held final demonstrations Friday in a dozen cities, including a rally at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando where animal-welfare advocates decried it as a “trophy hunt.”
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, which set a statewide kill quota of 320 bears — 100 in Central Florida — will monitor hunters in the field and protesters at the tag stations, said Diane Eggeman, FWC director of hunting and game management.
“We expect things smoothly,” she said.
But FWC also plans to staff each tag station with a law-enforcement officer and, in emails to bearpermit holders, urged hunters to be respectful to one another and to protesters because “not everyone agrees with the role of hunting ...”
“All eyes in Florida and beyond will be on you,” it read.
If confronted by protesters, it advised, hunters should “put your best foot forward and avoid engag-
to
go ing with them.”
Hunters must bring a kill to a tag station for inspection within 12 hours of recovering the carcass.
As of midafternoon Friday, the state had sold 3,543 bear-hunting permits — exceeding the estimated 3,500 bruins roaming the state. Each permit allows a hunter to kill one bear. More than 1,000 hunters listed addresses in Central Florida. Sales ended at midnight.
“It really is a sad day,” said Laura Bevan, Southern regional director for the Humane Society of the United States.
Hunters objected this week to wildlife officials because the state permit list was publicly available and contained names, street and email addresses, and phone numbers. Some complained they had received “hateful” messages from hunt foes.
One anti-hunting email warned: “Your address, email, phone, etc. personal info has been publicly posted for the world to see just who exactly is so blood thirsty that they want to kill a black bear. I ask that you reconsider. Google Walter Palmer.”
Palmer is the Minnesota dentist forced into hiding this year after
killing a protected lion while on safari in Africa.
The bear, featured on Florida’s “Conserve Wildlife” license plate, has grown in numbers and range during the past decade, sparking debate about overdevelopment of its habitat and the use of public money for bear-resistant trash cans.
Bears often wander into residential areas to raid garbage bins, bird feeders and barbecue pits for snacks.
FWC logs thousands of complaints a year about nuisance bears, including some that have killed livestock and pets — and a few that mauled people. Bears are blamed for attacks on three women in separate incidents in Seminole County since December 2013.
About 200 people have signed on with conservation group Speak Up Wekiva to serve as “bear hunt monitors” to photograph hunters, their vehicles and their kills at the tag stations, said Chuck O’Neal of Longwood, who organized the volunteers.
“They’re not there to protest,” O’Neal said. “If 320 [bears] are killed, we want to make sure 320 are checked in.”
O’Neal and Speak Up Wekiva, which sued to stop the hunt, say the hunt could be a slaughter that reverses decades of conservation work.
State wildlife officials say they will call off the hunt early if the kill quota is hit before the weeklong season ends.
Bicyclists, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts may cross paths with hunters in wildlife-management areas this weekend. “Wearing a fluorescent orange hat or outer garment for visibility is good practice during any hunting season, but it is not required,” FWC spokeswoman Tammy Sapp said.