More than 165 people signed up to speak during a public Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Havana, a town in Gadsden County.
George Warthen, the commission’s chief conservation officer, said the proposal, requested by the commission in December 2024, considered Florida’s “current population estimate,” which he listed as old as 2010 in the Big Bend, 2014 in the Central area, and 2015 in the South.
“Bear populations are growing,” Warthen said during the meeting at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Conference Center.
Warthen said the staff recommended requiring permits and quotas, limiting hunting zones, establishing a time limit, and nurturing a private lands bear harvest program.
After the presentation, Rodney Barreto, the commission’s chair and a Coral Gables real estate developer, said that as a courtesy, he was allowing public officials to speak first. The first speakers all supported the hunt.
“Parents want their children safe walking to the bus stop,” Gulf County Commissioner Sandy Quinn said.
Franklin County Commissioner Ottice D. Amison and Jefferson County Commissioner Ben White said their communities were also concerned about bear-human conflicts.
Liberty County Undersheriff Robert “Bobby” Revell said deputies are dealing with an increase in calls of black bears in homes, porches, and other situations that put residents and their pets at risk.
“Our residents are not looking to harm wildlife, they just want to live in peace and feel safe in their own yards,” Revell said.
Scott Thomas, the president of the North Florida Chapter’s Safari Club International, said he is a biologist who looked at his support of the hunt from “a scientific point of view and not an emotional response.”
About a dozen members of the Florida State Dog Hunters Association, a network of nonprofit organizations, wore neon orange T-shirts and also supported the hunt.
Nine-year-old Kelsey was the last speaker. She brought her statement in a purple folder with a picture of a large black bear. She stood as a strong opponent of hunters’ use of arrows and dogs.
“Bears are part of Florida’s wild family, they help our forest, and they deserve to live without being chased or hurt for sport,” Kelsey said.
The motion approving the hunt passed unanimously.
More of Warthen’s slide shows:
FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. fwc George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla. FWC George Warthen, the chief conservation officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented this slide during the commission's meeting on Wednesday in Havana, Fla.
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About The Author
Andrea Torres
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.
