Florida Judge Rules Bear Hunt is Legitimate

Bear approaches door of home. Image from Winter Springs, Florida, Police Department

A Florida circuit judge refused to halt the long planned and anticipated Florida bear hunt. The bear hunt is the first to be allowed since 2014-15, when 305 bears were harvested in two days. Bear Warriors United, a non-profit association attempted to stop the hunt. Here is the first sentence in Bear Warriors United vision:

 Our vision is to create a Florida where people and wildlife coexist in balance and mutual respect.

The vision implies nature is in balance without humans, and animals are legitimately regarded as the equal of humans. It is a basic misunderstanding of reality. There is no "balance" in nature unless it is created and maintained by humans. Respect for humans by animals is created by a justified fear of humans. Animals do not read laws. Animals are not concerned with human ethics or morals. Animals are not people. Most bears killed in Florida are cubs, killed and eaten by adult male bears. The scheduled bear hunt is aimed at killing adult male bears, by scheduling the hunt for the period most female bears with cubs are already in dens for hibernation, and adult males are still out and about.

About 300 bears are killed in vehicle collisions in Florida each year. The last study to determine the bear population was in 2014-15. The population was estimated at about 4,350. The growth of the bear population in Florida was estimated to reach 11,000 by 2026, which happens to be the same as the bear population was estimated to be before European contact. Florida, because of human intervention, is much more productive of food available to bears than it was before European contact.

In the planned hunt, it is unlikely more than 133 bears will be harvested. If all the bears harvested were fertile females, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission has testified it would not have any measurable effect on the Florida bear population. The bears harvested will be more than made up by cubs which survive. Dependent cubs are not included in the population estimate figures.  Bear Warriors United has a different assumption about the hunt. Here is one of the "challenged actions" in their legal complaint. From the complaint by Bear Warriors United, Inc.:

46.  There is no adequate remedy at law to address black bears killed pursuant to the FWC's unconstitutional act. No court order can restore the life of a black bear harvested in contradiction to Article IV, Section 9. 

The purpose of the hunt is to stabilize or reduce the bear population, not to grant immortality to individual bears. The Safari Club cited expert opinion in their brief. From the Safari Club International's brief, quoting the International Association for Bear Research and Management:

 Where the primary management objective is to slow population growth or limit population size or distribution, then increasing human-caused mortality is the only option. 

SCI also introduced information strongly implying bear hunting decreases human-bear conflicts. To hold the bear population steady, about 15% of the adult bears must be harvested each year.  The Florida FWC should release more recent bear population estimates next year. The projection is the bear population will have reached 10,000 or more by then. To keep a stable bear population of 10,000 about 1,500 need to be harvested each year. Michigan routinely harvests 15% of its estimated bear population, and the population continues to increase. The 2025 Florida bear season will not have a measurable effect on the Florida bear population. The hunt is scheduled for three weeks from December 6 to December 28, 2025.

Analysis:

The Florida bear population has to be managed. Only humans are capable of managing it. Regulated hunting is the most efficient and humane way to manage the bear population.

  

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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