{"id":2187110,"date":"2025-06-10T06:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T05:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2187110"},"modified":"2025-06-07T09:57:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T08:57:24","slug":"wildlife-advocates-condemn-proposed-barbaric-florida-black-bear-hunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wildlife-advocates-condemn-proposed-barbaric-florida-black-bear-hunt\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildlife Advocates Condemn Proposed \u2018Barbaric\u2019 Florida Black Bear Hunt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials are moving forward with plans for a black bear hunt in the state in December. The proposed 23-day hunt could result in the slaughter of nearly 200 bears \u2014 almost five percent of the state\u2019s estimated total.<\/p>\n<p>Opponents are calling it a bloodlust-driven trophy hunt with no scientific basis, reported The Guardian.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s open season. It\u2019s just \u2018let\u2019s use everything we have against the bears now.\u2019 It completely blows my mind,\u201d said Adam Sugalski, founder of Bear Defenders, as The Guardian reported.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed hunt would reintroduce \u201cbarbaric\u201d practices like chasing and cornering bears with packs of dogs, bear baiting and hunting with bows and arrows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey already pulled every protection. You can\u2019t get in trouble for killing a bear, it seems, and now there\u2019s this unregulated hunt. I just kind of feel for these poor souls in the woods with no protections any more, and then they\u2019re about to release the hounds on them,\u201d Sugalski said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fstopbearhunt%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02D1TiQmCw3wPQncGaq7JuxMtXig5mA22iZBR2zCs2Lr8uKhN9tMsPBiGYEs9jtwArl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"488\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Conservation groups like the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Defenders of Wildlife and the Florida chapter of Sierra Club have said the FWC is using incomplete and outdated data of the bear population to justify the hunt while falsely claiming the killings are a necessary conservation measure.<\/p>\n<p>The FWC has itself admitted that the most recent count of black bear numbers in Florida \u2014 approximately 4,050 \u2014 was tallied over a decade ago. Additionally, the commission has never set a limit for the population other than noting the number of bears that would exceed the capacity of available habitat and overtax other resources.<\/p>\n<p>A controversial black bear hunt in 2015 resulted in the killing of 305 bears in just two days, including those who were said to be off-limits like mothers, cubs and many bears that weighed less than 100 pounds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a brutal massacre, as it has been in the past,\u201d Democratic State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith told Florida Politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not wildlife conservation \u2014 it\u2019s cruelty,\u201d Smith said in an email to supporters of a letter-writing campaign urging Governor Ron DeSantis to stop the hunting of black bears in Florida. \u201cAnd even worse, there will be no oversight to ensure hunters don\u2019t exceed these brutal limits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>James Scott, campaign coordinator for Speak Up Wekiva and former chair of the Florida chapter of Sierra Club, called the proposed slaughter a \u201crich man\u2019s hunt\u2026 not science-based conservation,\u201d as reported by The Guardian.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we got to where bear populations were clearly exceeding the carrying capacity of any given unit, with the negative effects that come with that, that would be justification, a science-based, conservation-based approach to hunting. But they haven\u2019t got anywhere near justifying that,\u201d Scott said. \u201cInstead you have some characters who have worked really hard framing hunting as a conservation tool, and some folks who have ingratiated themselves with commissioners. You also have a commission appointed by the governor, and most of them are land developers. So there are powerful interests that have a financial interest in limiting the growth of the bear population.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Scott pointed out that the existing FWC Florida Black Bear Management Plan, which was last updated in 2019, stated that the bears were listed as a threatened species in the state as recently as June of 2012, and did not propose that hunting be reintroduced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFortunately, the Florida black bear population is growing. We have more bears now than at any time in the last 100 years, but our conservation efforts are not finished,\u201d the plan said.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed December hunt, approved by the commission earlier this month, seeks to \u201cremove\u201d 187 black bears across four zones.<\/p>\n<p>A petition against the hunt launched by Bear Defenders has over 43,000 signatures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve got to think about the money and power of the folks that want to hunt bears. They\u2019re trophy hunters, the kind of guys that can afford to go to Africa and mow down cheetahs and giraffes and lions and stuff. Let\u2019s not kid ourselves here, these guys just want to have a head on a wall,\u201d Scott said, as The Guardian reported.<\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fstopbearhunt%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02pRA63vzo3LbVBCGqtUq8ivoNAYTAVn2a26w1d1dMSLKQViXdH14jfBvcAx4ownYUl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"730\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><i>This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecowatch.com\/florida-black-bear-hunt.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">article<\/a> by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes was first published by EcoWatch on 5 June 2025. Lead Image: A black bear cub in Florida. Florida Fish and Wildlife.<br \/>\n<\/i><\/p>\n<h2>Wildlife in catastrophic decline<\/h2>\n<p>The 73% decline in vertebrate wildlife populations during the last 50 years (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish), is primarily driven by human activities that threaten biodiversity.<\/p>\n<p><em>Habitat Loss and Degradation<\/em> &#8211; human activities like deforestation, urbanization, and agriculture have led to the destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats, reducing the space and resources available for wildlife.<\/p>\n<p><em>Pollution<\/em> &#8211; air, water, and soil pollution from industrial activities, agriculture, and other sources can harm wildlife directly or indirectly by affecting their habitats and food sources.<\/p>\n<p><em>Climate Change<\/em> &#8211; changing weather patterns, rising temperatures, and sea levels are disrupting ecosystems and impacting species&#8217; ability to adapt and survive.<\/p>\n<p><em>Overexploitation of Resources<\/em> &#8211; unsustainable hunting, fishing, and logging practices can lead to the depletion of populations and the loss of biodiversity.<\/p>\n<p><em>Invasive Species<\/em> &#8211; the introduction of non-native species can disrupt ecosystems, compete with native species, and threaten their survival.<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/install-popup-button.js\" id=\"donorbox-popup-button-installer\"> <\/script><a id=\"preview_inline_popup_button\" class=\"dbox-donation-button\" style=\"background: #0dc5dc; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; display: flex; gap: 8px; width: fit-content; font-size: 16px; border-radius: 5px; line-height: 24px; padding: 8px 24px;\" href=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/focusing-on-wildlife-needs-your-support?amount=50\" data-reminder-widget-enabled=\"true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" fifu-lazy=\"1\" fifu-data-sizes=\"auto\" fifu-data-srcset=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 75w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 100w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 150w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 240w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 320w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 500w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 640w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 800w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 1024w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 1280w, https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg 1600w\" fifu-data-src=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/images\/white_logo.svg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">Donate<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Help to protect wildlife by donating as little as $5. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wildlife-charities-supported-by-focusing-on-wildlife\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">conservation partners<\/a> spend at least 80 percent of the money raised on actual fieldwork rather than administration and fundraising.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr style=\"border-top: 1px solid white;\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials are moving forward with plans for a black bear hunt in the state in December. The proposed 23-day hunt could result in the slaughter of nearly 200 bears \u2014 almost five percent of the state\u2019s estimated total. Opponents are calling it a bloodlust-driven trophy hunt with no [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1178,"featured_media":2204413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.ecowatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/florida-black-bear.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6985,5],"tags":[8442,1903,1904],"class_list":["post-2187110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-wildlife","tag-black-bears","tag-cheetahs","tag-giraffes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2187110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2187110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2187110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2204413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2187110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2187110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2187110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}