Outcry from animal activists stops bear hunt -- for now

Florida Wildlife Officials decide to postpone bear hunt

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

MIAMI – Adriana M. Salazar wore a black t-shirt that read "Paws Up Don't Shoot" -- resembling the "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" rallying cry in Ferguson two years ago.

The t-shirt had nothing to do with a police shooting. It had a picture of a bear raising its arms. The message, she said, was about stopping bear hunting in Florida. 

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Salazar wore it as she walked in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood -- where she was more likely to be robbed at gun point than to become the victim of a bear attack. It was time to raise awareness, she said. 

"We share Florida with these black bears," Salazar said in Spanish. "Hunting them for sport is cruel. I know they are not teddy bears, but they are intelligent beings. Their lives need to be respected. We need to protect them."

During an FWC meeting on Wednesday at Eastpoint, in central Florida, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologists recommend a scaled down version of the hunt.  And after dozens showed up to voice their opposition, the FWC voted against it -- for now. They will revisit the issue next year. 

Salazar wasn't alone. Miami-Dade County commissioners voted to oppose the bear hunt in Florida this year. Commissioners in South Miami, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, Biscayne Park and Davie also approved similar symbolic resolutions. 

The Animal Defenders International, a worldwide organization, sent their general counsel Christina Scaringe to tell the commissioners that non-lethal methods should be used to deal with the bears. The majority of the 106 speakers who showed up to the meeting agreed with Scaringe. 

Florida removed black bears from the list of protected animals about four years ago. Activists said last year's hunt -- the first in Florida since 1994 -- was a mess. 

There are some 4,350 black bears in Florida, according to the FWC. Last year, authorities issued some 3,700 licenses to hunt for bears. The FWC reported hunters killed 304 bears -- including 36 mother bears and a 42-pound cub -- in two days. The quota was 321 and the hunt was supposed to last a week.

Several activists also referred to alleged cruelty during last year's hunt. Authorities reported issuing two second-degree misdemeanor citations. One was for the hunter who killed the cub. Another was for a man who hung a bag -- with a doughnut, a chocolate eclair, honeybuns and a fish filet -- from a tree. Hunters were not allowed to use food as bait.

At the meeting, supporters of the bear hunt included John Fuller, an attorney who co-founded The Future of Hunting in Florida. He said he supports hunting as a management tool. There was also a grower of blueberries, who is tired of having to repair his fence.

Sheri Mann said last year's two-day hunt was a success. A black bear attacked Mann's teenage daughter Leah Reeder in 2014. She played dead and her springer spaniel Ralph scared off the bear. She survived with wounds to the head, neck, back and arms.

"We haven't had a bear in our neighborhoods in four months now," Mann said. "We had seven a night at one time."

Aliesa "Liesa" Priddy, the FWC vice chairman, said there was enough scientific data to support a bear hunt and  she added that achieving perfection during a hunt is impossible. She was one of the three who supported the hunt. 

FWC Commissioner Ron Bergeron said he is a hunter and hunters should be respected. But in the end, the Fort Lauderdale businessman was one of the four FWC commissioners who voted against having the hunt this year. 

"Let's do what's best for the bear," Bergeron said. 


About the Author:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.