Gov. DeSantis loosens restrictions regarding lethal force during bear encounters

Is there any doubt why black bears are no fans of humans?

Gov. Ron DeSantis has approved legislation (HB 87) making clear that Floridians can kill a bear if the animal is threatening a person’s life, pet or property.

Port St. Joe Republican Rep. Jason Shoaf sponsored the legislation, dubbed the “Self Defense Act.” Republican Sen. Corey Simon carried the Senate companion (SB 632).

Current law already allowed individuals to kill a bear in life-or-death situations. The new legislation seeks to make clear that individuals won’t be punished in other circumstances.

The bill language says no administrative, civil or criminal penalty is appropriate if a person “reasonably believed that his or her action was necessary to avoid an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to himself or herself or to another, an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to a pet, or substantial damage to a dwelling.”

DeSantis OK’d the legislation in an announcement late Friday.

The measure’s proponents argued that bears wandering on to people’s property can be a threat, and that current state law and guidance elsewhere was confusing enough that some people may be afraid to act, worried that they could be punished for protecting themselves.

The updated legislation does have some restrictions. Individuals cannot “lure the bear with food or attractants for an illegal purpose, including, but not limited to, training dogs to hunt bears.” The person cannot “intentionally or recklessly place himself or herself or a pet in a situation in which he or she would be likely to need to use lethal force.”

And if a bear is shot and killed, the individual must notify the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) within 24 hours.

But critics worry that the legislation isn’t needed and will threaten the state’s black bear population. They argue that people who encounter black bears are often careless in their own actions, such as with instances of bears wandering onto property looking for food laying out in the open.

“Governor DeSantis has delivered a major failure for Florida’s environment by signing HB 87 into law,” said Susannah Randolph, Sierra Club Florida chapter director. “Since its inception, Sierra Club Florida has called on the Governor to put a stop to this extreme bill, and we condemn him for approving this absurd and dangerous legislation.”

And while the black bear isn’t a protected species anymore — its population rose in recent decades after falling to between 300 and 500 animals in the 1970s — there are still only around 4,000 in the state, according to FWC. Making it easier to kill bears could hurt that progress, critics worry.

Shoaf, however, argued that number undercounts the current wild population.

The measure passed on a 24-12 vote in the Senate, mostly along party lines. Sen. Ileana Garcia was the only Republican to vote “no,” along with 11 Democrats.

The House then approved the measure on an 83-28 vote, with Republicans mostly in favor and Democrats mostly opposed.

Democratic Reps. Christopher Benjamin, Daryl Campbell, Hillary Cassel, Kevin Chambliss, Kimberly Daniels, Gallop Franklin, Allison Tant and Marie Woodson voted in favor of the bill. And Republican Reps. Linda Chaney, Peggy Gossett-Seidman, Rachel Saunders Plakon and David Smith voted against it.

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Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics contributed to this report.