State wildlife officials next month could approve rules for a three-week bear hunt in December that would have “a more structured format” than a hunt halted a decade ago after a limit was quickly reached on bears that could be killed.
The proposed rules, which will be considered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission during a meeting Aug. 13 and Aug. 14 in Havana, would include a lottery-style permitting process and up to 187 bears being killed in four areas of the state. The rules also would include guidelines to encourage hunters to kill male bears.
George Warthen, the commission’s chief conservation officer, said the proposed hunt — the state’s first since 2015 — is an additional method to manage bears as they coexist with humans.
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“When we look at game species across North America, there's not a single game species that has gone extinct or come close through regulated hunting,” Warthen said. “Instead, we see more money, more attention and a lot more benefits for that animal. And this can be a tough conversation to have. And so the why, for Florida, becomes we're one of the only states that is not participating in regulated bear hunting in states that have abundant bear populations.”
Bear hunting has long been a controversial issue in Florida, with opponents saying that killing bears for sport won’t reduce human-bear interactions. They also say the commission should expand the use of non-lethal options, such as bear-proof trash containers, to help keep bears from being drawn to residences and businesses and should increase land-conservation efforts.
But calls to hold a hunt have been growing. The 2015 hunt ended after two days, when 305 bears were killed in what was expected to be a weeklong endeavor.
The state had an estimated 4,050 bears in 2015, considered the most recent figures by the commission.
Bears were on a state list of threatened species from 1974 to 2012, until a state biological status review determined they were no longer at high risk of extinction.
During the past 50 years, the state has recorded 42 incidents in which wild bears have made physical contact with people, with the first recorded fatal bear attack occurring in May, when an 89-year-old Collier County man and his dog were killed.
The commission on May 21 voted 4-1 to support a draft proposal for the December hunt. Commission Vice Chairman Steven Hudson voted against the proposal, suggesting that non-Floridians should be prohibited from getting permits and raising concerns about allowing people to hunt bears at feeding stations.
A notable change in this year’s proposals involves permits. In 2015, permits were open to anyone willing to pay and participate until a quota for bills killed was reached.
“This new proposal only gives out a specific number of tags that meet that (187-bear) quota, to a finite number of hunters, who can then take one bear,” Warthen said. “That's a big change, so that people feel that we see … a more structured format that allocates a permit per hunter, so people can see that and it gives hunters more time.”
The proposed permit-drawing process would be open to anyone who pays a $5 entry fee. It would not limit the number of times a person could enter, but people whose names are drawn would only be able to purchase a single permit.
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Also, non-Floridians would be limited to 10 percent of the permits, which would cost them $300. Permits would be priced at $100 for Floridians.
Chuck O’Neal of the environmental group Speak Up Wekiva has suggested opponents of the hunt enter the drawing to reduce the number of bears killed.
“If every Floridian entered the lottery, only 1.87 bears --- rounded to 2 --- would be killed because only 1 percent of Florida citizens actually hunt,” O’Neal posted on Facebook.
Warthen said not reaching the December quota could lead to a boost in permits for future hunts. The 187-bear quota is based on a formula that takes into account female bears being killed.
“It’s highly unlikely and probable that the harvest will be all female or that all hunters will harvest a bear,” Warthen said. “What we'll see is a very conservative approach that allows for continued growth within bear populations in Florida, but at a more managed rate.”
The hunt is projected to be limited to 68 bears in the Apalachicola region west of Tallahassee; 46 in areas west of Jacksonville; 18 in an area north of Orlando; and 55 in the Big Cypress region southwest of Lake Okeechobee.
Warthen said hunting around feeding stations is expected to allow hunters to be more selective.
“We're skewing this harvest, or having the rules set so it encourages more male bears harvested,” Warthen said. “This would allow that hunter there time, to make sure that it's not a female with cubs, which would also be prohibited.”
Hunters would not be allowed to use dogs to pursue bears in December, but that would change in subsequent seasons.
“It's very important that those dogs are properly trained and there's time to do that,” Warthen said.
