By Chad Adams
Florida has been making a lot of news of late, and not for the typical Florida Man shenanigans we love around here at FE. Instead, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently approved the state’s first black bear hunt in a decade.
Then the silliness began. Led by groups including Bear Defenders and the Sierra Club, hoards of anti-hunters applied for bear tags in a rouge attempt to kill the hunt. Ultimately, more than 160,000 applicants vied for a mere 172 tags.
When that didn’t shut down the hunt, a lawsuit from anti-hunters challenged the FWC’s authority to authorize the state’s first bear hunt since 2015. So this week, Safari Club International (SCI) entered the fight.
“SCI will continue to fight for hunters, science-backed conservation, and new hunting opportunities consistent with the right to fish and hunt recently enshrined in the Sunshine State,” said SCI President Jeff Meyerl. “SCI’s legal defense team is the tip of the spear when it comes to defending hunters’ rights, and we will not let this radical litigation thwart the years of hard work that made Florida’s legal bear hunt possible.”
The FWC’s allocation of 172 black bear tags comprises a very conservative number based on population data, rising human-bear conflicts, and the 300-plus vehicle strikes that Floridians and bears suffer each year, according to SCI. Florida’s growing black bear population — estimated around 4,000 — leads to increases in human-bear conflicts. A fatal attack occurred last summer, making it clear proper bear management has reached a critical point.
Meanwhile, Bear Warriors United, an animal rights group with a history of ignoring science, according to SCI, has twice filed suit over this regulated hunt.
SCI, like most hunters and true conservationists, supports science-based wildlife management. As such, SCI has long remained a vocal advocate for a legal, regulated black bear hunt in Florida. So the organization is backing Florida’s wildlife science officials and the interests of the state’s hunters to fight anti-hunters and their attempt to deny the science of good, sound wildlife management and the essential role of hunting to reduce black bear population expansion.
For more info, visit safariclub.org.
