Florida FWC commissioners to vote on December black bear hunt

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — During the 2015 Florida black bear hunt, more than 300 -- including the prohibited lactating mothers and cubs -- were slaughtered in less than 48 hours. The hunt had to be called off.

Ron Bergeron, a developer, is both an avid hunter and a fervent Florida Everglades conservationist. As a former FWC commissioner, he was the only one who voted against the 2015 bear hunt.

Bergeron is concerned about the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s upcoming vote on another proposed bear hunt to be held in December.

“The bear is an icon animal, just like the panther, the bald eagle, the manatee, and in the eyes of the public, they want a greater level of protection,” Bergeron said.

The FWC is moving forward with a vote despite strong public opposition. A poll showed 75% of Floridians oppose it, and the commission received about 13,000 responses after public meetings.

“I have not heard that bears are starving or there is diseased bears or there’s any reason,” Jamie Dos Santos, an animal advocate, said. “Someone give us a reason why we can’t slow down, why do we have to move forward with a hunt right now?”

The FWC aims to allow only one bear to be killed per permit, but this is based on self-reporting and without weighing stations. Dogs, bow and arrows and feeding station traps will be allowed.

“We have no oversight,” Dos Santos said. “This is just on the hunter’s word that they’ve killed the bear, they’re going to tag it, and then they are going to report themselves within 24 hours.”

According to FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto, a Coral Gables real estate developer, Florida’s bear population has increased from just a few hundred bears in the 1970s to over 4,000.

The bears were nearly hunted to extinction. It wasn’t until 2012 that bears were excluded from the threatened species list. New up-to-date data will not be available until 2029.

“People in Florida don’t want bears hunted,” Dos Santos said. “We don’t want panthers hunted, and we don’t want manatees hunted, right? Those are things that you cannot kill in Florida.”

Advocates recommend that those who oppose the hunt request a hunting permit as part of the lottery system, pay for it, and not participate. They also suggest that they contact Gov. Ron DeSantis since FWC commissioners are appointed by the governor.

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