Saving Florida’s Black Bears Stopping the hunt in 2015

History of bear hunting in Florida  1974 – FL Black Bear listed as threatened – estimated population. Hunting still allowed.  1994 – Hunting stopped statewide  2002 – Bear population 3,000  2012 – FL black bear removed from “threatened” list  2015 – FL Fish & Wildlife Commission proposes re-opening hunt with proposed 275+ bears to be killed

2002 Bear Population

Threats to bears

Human-Bear Conflicts

FWC report on recent injuries

FWC plan to reduce human/bear conflicts

FWC Proposal – Minimum 275 bears to be killed!

Hunting Proposal  Special Use Permit - $100 for FL residents, $300 out-of-state residents  1 week: Oct  No hunting within 100 yards from deer or hog feeding station (hunters want baiting changed)  No hunting w/dogs, but dogs allowed to trail injured bear (hunters want changed to allow dogs to tree bear)  No cubs or bears less than 100 lbs

Science on our side!  No correlation between hunting and HBC.  8 scientific studies, including one published in 2014, find no evidence that hunting would result in less HBC.  Many more studies emphasize that employing non-lethal co-existence techniques, such as using bear-proof trash cans in bear zones along with code enforcement, can successfully resolve human-bear conflicts.

Timeline  Bear hunting proposal will be discussed and voted on at the Wildlife Commission Meeting in Tallahassee on April 15 th  2 nd and final vote will take place at June commission meeting in Sarasota  If approved, over 275 bears will be hunted and killed in FL forests for the first time in 20 years this October

Hounding: Florida Next?

Baiting: Florida Next?

Bears Need Your Voice!

Action Needed  Call Governor Rick Scott at (850)  Call and your state legislators and  Call Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (850) &  Ask them to stop the bear hunt and focus on effective, non-lethal conflict prevention.  Attend FWC hearings on the issue on April 15 in Tallahassee and in June in Sarasota and speak out against the hunt.

Thank you for your support and for helping us try to save our Florida black bears!