Protesters rallied in Fort Myers on Friday, advocating against the state’s first bear hunt in more than two decades. The season starts Saturday and lasts up to seven days. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the state’s bear population has rebounded in the last 50 years. There have been some recent reports of bears moving into residential areas.
Jeanne Jain is the organizer of Southwest Florida Animal Advocates. She planned the local protest. Jain said there were about 10 other demonstrations across the state Friday. She’s concerned the bear hunters will not be managed properly by the FWC.
“The hunters don’t have to show a permit to get into a wildlife management area which means the FWC has no way of enforcing whether a person has a bear hunt permit or not," said Jain. "The FWC has no way of guaranteeing that a person that does kill bear brings it to a check station to be counted towards the quota. And they also have no way of preventing mother bears from being killed in front of their cubs.”
Calls made to FWC regarding these comments were not returned. More than 3,500 people acquired bear hunting permits, as of Friday. And there are an estimated 3,500 bears in the state. FWC said the season will conclude when 320 bears have been hunted throughout Florida.
