Senate approves shooting bears in self-defense
A contentious endeavor to bolster self-defense justifications for individuals who shoot bears on their premises is making its way back to the Florida House. The Republican-dominated Senate decisively voted 24-12 on Wednesday in favor of a bill (HB 87) that opponents argue will lead to an escalation in the mortality rate of the once-endangered species. The bill had previously been approved by the House; however, the Senate introduced an alteration to clarify that self-defense protections would not apply to individuals who entice bears with food or through other means, such as training dogs to hunt bears. Consequently, the bill will need to undergo further evaluation by the House.
Corey Simon, the sponsor of the bill and a Republican from Tallahassee, asserted that the legislation is imperative due to the rising number of bears encroaching into residential areas within his expansive North Florida district. Simon highlighted that the current law entails a degree of uncertainty. He emphasized, “This isn’t a mandate by any stretch of the imagination. If a bear shows up in your home, or on your porch, you’re not obligated to shoot that bear.” The proposal stipulates that individuals would be shielded from penalties for killing bears if they “reasonably believed that his or her action was necessary to avoid an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.”
Moreover, those who resort to shooting bears would be mandated to inform the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission within 24 hours. Additionally, they would need to demonstrate that they did not intentionally place themselves or their pets in circumstances necessitating the killing of bears. Furthermore, individuals would be prohibited from possessing or selling bear carcasses subsequent to the killings. Despite the bill’s progression, several Democrats who opposed the measure contended that the state should prioritize alternative strategies to diminish human-bear interactions, such as expanding initiatives to deter bears from being drawn to garbage in residential areas.
Senator Tina Polsky, a Democrat from Boca Raton, remarked, “We know this is a gun-happy culture. And giving them the permission to shoot is what this bill is doing, instead of taking every single precaution that we could possibly take to prevent the taking of a protected species and potentially other human life.” Although similar bills had failed to gain approval in recent years, the matter gained momentum during this year’s legislative session following Sheriff A.J. Smith of Franklin County’s assertion in September that his rural community was being “inundated and overrun by the bear population.”
Advocates of the bill contended that the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has not altered its approach to human-bear interactions, which includes the BearWise program. This program delineates various measures such as advising individuals not to feed bears, securing grills, making trash less accessible, removing bird feeders when bears are active, and refraining from leaving pet food outdoors. The House overwhelmingly passed the bill with an 88-29 vote last Thursday. As of a 2017 estimate by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state harbored approximately 4,050 bears, marking the most recent available data. Despite dwindling numbers to between 300 and 500 in the 1970s, the species managed to rebound while classified as threatened by the state. Subsequently, this designation was rescinded in 2012 following the approval of a fresh management plan.
Since then, the state has conducted a solitary bear hunt. In 2015, the state organized a two-day hunt across four regions, resulting in the demise of 304 bears, falling short of the anticipated “harvest objective” by 16 bears over seven days.
