Michael Sainato: Black bears, good science on losing end as hunt begins

It’s already been a sad week for black bears in Florida.

On Saturday, the first day of the big Florida black bear hunt, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stopped the hunting in Central Florida after 99 bears were killed, just one under the quota for that region’s weeklong season. Statewide, 207 bears were killed. The quota for the whole state was 320 bears. More than twice the quota for the panhandle region alone was met, with 81 bears killed Saturday.

Leading up to the hunting period’s start, 3,778 bear hunting permits were issued. The estimated Florida bear population is about 3,500.

It’s the first state-sanctioned Florida black bear hunt in decades. Environmental organizations protested it and wildlife biologists advised against it, recommending a full census of the state’s bear population be done prior to deciding on such  a hunt.

Other states have allowed bear hunts, but Florida’s fragmented bear habitat has most environmentalists questioning whether such an event here is necessary. Bears in Florida, up until 2012, were considered an endangered species, and hunting them was outlawed in 1994. Lawsuits filed by several environmental organizations failed to block the hunt, and Gov. Rick Scott refused to intervene.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has seven commissioners, all appointed or reappointed by Scott since he was elected in 2010. The commission unanimously approved the bear hunt this year. Its members are:

• Brian S. Yablonski is a director for a utilities company;
• Aliese P. “Liesa” Priddy is a commercial rancher;
• Ronald M. Bergeron is a development contractor;
• Richard Hanas is a senior vice president for a land developing company;
• Adrien Bo Rivard is a lawyer and corporate lobbyist;
• Charles W. Roberts III is president of a construction company; and
• Robert A Spottswood runs his own real estate development firm.

The hunt prohibited any bears with cubs, but the rule was loosely enforced with several mother bears reportedly being bagged. Tammy Sapp, a FWC spokeswoman, told the Orlando Sentinel the hunt was timed so orphan cubs would be old enough to live on their own. Florida black bear cubs wean after six to eight months, but stay with their mothers a year and a half or more.

The hunt has caused much animosity between hunters and animal rights advocates. Hunters argue that bears are beginning to encroach onto roads and civilization. Animal rights advocates argue the hunt is premature in terms of bear population recovery and that better management practices exist other than killing them.

“The hunt is a betrayal of this intelligent animal and a slap in the face to Floridians who love the Florida black bear,” said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a news release. “We take their land, run them over with cars, and then shoot them when they become habituated to our trash – our bears deserve better.”

According to the FWC website, bears in Florida only occupy 18 percent of their historic range, and that “while some subpopulations appear to be doing well, others are clearly still recovering.” By FWC estimates, Florida black bears will lose 2.3 million acres of their habitat by 2060.

The Tampa Bay Times quoted one hunter as saying a trophy bear would be “a nice thing to have.” Hunters often argue that such hunts are in the best interests of residents and/or conservation but it’s clear they bought the $100 hunting permits in Florida to obtain a trophy.

Bears are sentient beings that have seen most of their habitat destroyed during the past century. It’s estimated that Florida was home to about 12,000 of the black bear subspecies before European settlement.

Pictures of dead bears being weighed and measured as hunters proudly pose with their quarry say more about what the bear hunt really is about and why it shouldn’t be allowed.

Money from bear permits will go to bear conservation and public education efforts, but that is a moot conciliation in comparison to what the effects would be if bears were just not hunted in the first place.

Michael Sainato is an alumnus of Binghamton University and a freelance writer based in Gainesville, Florida. He regularly contributes to the New York Observer. Column courtesy of Context Florida.