More research, fewer killings better for bears

Let the bears live.

We also don't believe the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, which authorized permits for a bear hunt during a week in October, adequately researched the issue to determine if the bear population had increased enough where human attacks were likely to increase.

Selling permits for $100 each to Florida residents with valid hunting licenses will probably allow for over 300 black bears — the only species in the state — and as many as 80 in south Florida to be killed. But the hunt is not addressing the real problem of how humans treat the bears and we urge the Fish and Wildlife Commission to reverse its decision prior to the start of the season on Oct. 24.

Apparently, the commission chose to ignore animal rights groups and about 78 percent of 40,000 comments to the commission that were against such a hunt. It seems the commission is convinced the only way to control what it believes is a dangerous situation for the public is to kill them. Human contact with bears is increasing because we squeeze out adequate food supplies because of the growing number of housing developments. State officials have not been aggressive enough in informing the public of the hazards of leaving food out for bears who will continue to migrate to the source until it runs out.

Jana Wiggins, with Florida Voices for Animals, says: "If you leave animals alone and where they need to be in their own habitat without development encroaching them, nature will work. She is right. Nature should be the common denominator, not a high-powered rifle in the hands of a recreational shooter, who may not know how to handle it properly.

There is a 400 percent increase in the number of bear report calls over the last decade. The state's population increased by 17.2 percent from 2000-2010, and continues to climb, passing New York as the country's third most populated state with over 20 million residents. With that, came more and more housing communities, increased road infrastructure and less space for bears to freely survive. There were 11,000 bears in the state prior to the building industry boom and there are an estimated 3,000 now. The last time, we hunted and killed bears legally was 1994.

If the hunt is to continue, we hope the state commission is doing its due diligence to inform those who purchase permits where they can legally kill a male black bear. For instance, such hunting is not allowed within the municipal limits of cities like Cape Coral and Fort Myers. It appears, according to the commissioner's website, the only legal place to hunt bears will be the state's Wildlife Management Areas.

Human and bear confrontations have been on the rise in the state, especially in central Florida. Four attacks led to serious injures, There are more of those confrontations reported in that part of the state because of higher population densities, especially around the Orlando area. People calling to report bear sightings also has increased.

The state listed the black bear on its threatened species list in 1974, then delisted it in 2012, but banned bear hunting 21 years ago – until now.

Since it was removed for the endangered list but not allowed to be hunted, the bear population has started to rebound, but its existence remains threatened by the state's growing human population, housing developments and roadways encroaching on the bear's habitat.

On the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission's website is the message: "preventing access to food is the most important thing you can do to keep bears wild and out of your neighborhood." The commission needs to heed its own message and continue to teach Floridians the importance of leaving the animal alone. This should be about cleaning up after ourselves and a better understanding of wildlife, not about yet another way to kill an animal.