Lawsuit Aims to End Black Bear Hunts Before They Begin

A Lake Mary-based conservation group wants a judge to declare the return of Florida’s black bear hunts unconstitutional.

Speak Up Wekiva filed a lawsuit in Tallahassee on Friday that alleges the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission violated its own constitutionally mandated mission to protect and preserve wildlife when it approved the reinstatement of limited hunts with the state. Those hunts are expected to begin Oct. 24.

The suit, which seeks to block the start of those hunts, contends the state has no evidence to support the notion that hunts would reduce conflicts between humans and bears, the Orlando Sentinel reported. It also questions the state’s position that the current black bear population could sustain such hunts.

Officials from the FWC do no comment on pending litigation.

In June, the commission voted 5 to 1 in favor of approving a limited hunting season on black bears. Commissioners were all in favor of the measure pitched as a way to curb human and bear encounters with the exception of Ron Bergeron.

The state outlawed black bear hunts in 1994 when the population of bears in Florida dwindled from an estimated 11,000 at the turn of the 20th century to less than 500 in 1974. With the black bear population once again above 3,000 and encounters between people and bears becoming more frequent and violent, however, the commission began reconsidering its rules.

In 2012, the commission took black bears off the state’s threatened species list and put a management plan in place. Even so, wildlife officials have been flooded with calls related to black bears in recent years and there have been several serious attacks in the past year.

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Staff members at the wildlife commission recommended “limited hunts that would contribute to an overall mortality rate of 20 percent or less within each Bear Management Unit,” a presentation from the agency stated. Females with cubs and bears weighing less than 100 pounds would remain protected from hunters.

The staff report indicates that before bear hunting closed statewide, the average annual harvest added up to about 46 bears a year.

Bear complaint calls to wildlife officials have risen dramatically in recent years. In 1990, the commission fielded 99 complaint calls. In 2014, that number rose to 6,312, down slightly from the 6,667 fielded in 2013, the agency noted.

“There have been four serious attacks on people by bears over the past year,” staff wrote in the presentation. “Along with significantly increasing conflict situations across the state, these attacks have caused FWC staff to reassess the pace and aggressiveness of implementation of our Bear Management Plan,” the presentation states. “In response, we are taking even more aggressive and proactive actions to ensure human safety and are accelerating consideration of hunting as a population management tool.”

Back in April, the commission approved rules for the proposed hunts that included a set week of Oct. 24-30 for the permitted season. Florida hunters will have to pay $100 for permits and will be allowed only one bear per season. Hunters from out of state will pay $300 and face the same bag limit.

It is unclear how soon the court will take up the issue.

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Photo courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission