Volusia County, FL - The Florida black bear is about to be hunted for the first time in over 2 decades. Tiger Bay State Forest between DeLand and Daytona Beach will be just one of the many sites statewide where it’ll be open season on bears starting tomorrow.
Florida Fish & Wildlife says hunters will be allowed to take only 320 bears statewide during the week-long hunt and that the season will end before that if that quota is met. Hunting bears was legal until 1994 when it was banned because of concerns that the species would become extinct.
The ban was lifted by FWC commissioners earlier this year over concerns that the species has now grown to the point where it’s coming into neighborhoods, posing a threat to humans. Laura Bevan with the Humane Society of the United States says it’s not the animal’s fault and it shouldn’t be hunted. She blames FWC for not dealing with people who leave garbage out for bears to pick at. Hunter Wayne McDaniel says the bears create a safety issue and the hunt will help ensure that bears don’t go through neighborhoods and hurt or kill someone.
The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida will be among the many groups out in force today throughout the state to protest the hunt. ARFF’s Brian Wilson says they’re hoping the protests will convince the governor to call off the hunt. Wilson acknowledged that the protests may not stop this hunt, but they’re in this for the long haul. ARFF is against the hunt because its only been 3 years since the Florida black bear was classified as a threatened species and he doubts the hunt will be as limited as the wildlife commission claims. He suspects it could be an “extinction event” because there are only around 3,000 bears in the state.
Around 3,300 licenses have been sold so far, according to FWC.
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