st. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s first bear hunt in a decade attracted more than 160,000 applicants for a much more limited number of permits, including from enemies trying to reduce the number of bears killed.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Board will award 172 bear hunt permits through the random lottery for the December hunt, which has been slightly reduced from the initially proposed 187 permits. This permission allows hunters to kill one bear in an area where bear populations are considered large enough.
There are an estimated 4,000 black bears in Florida, wildlife officials say.
Applications were made from Monday to Monday from September 12th. FWC spokeswoman Shannon Knowles said he received 163,459 applications via email on Tuesday, adding that he has no record of the number of applications he has obtained during the 2015 hunt.
“We collect and evaluate data that will be used to shape future hunts, such as unused permits and hunter success,” Knowles said.
Several organizations that opposed the hunt, such as the Sierra Club and the Bear Defenders, encouraged people to apply for a bear permit to obtain hunting licenses and never use them.
“This involvement in the lottery will save the bear’s lives. How many lives will be saved until all unused tags are turned two weeks after the hunt is over,” said Chuck O’Neill, speaking to Wekiba and speaking for wildlife. “There are thousands of animal advocates in the FWCS database of licensed hunters currently undergoing research into new hunting rules. The impact can be felt for decades.”
The enemy also pleaded to stop the hunt. A lot of discussion focuses on whether or not a hunt is necessary.
In Florida, only one fatal black bear attack was recorded in the attacks of May, 89-year-old Robert Marquell and his daughter’s dog, in a rural area. Officials in many regions of the state say contact with potentially dangerous people is increasing. Environmentalists say it’s because people are invading bear habitats.
The FWC says on its website that hunting is a proven way to control wildlife populations.
This year’s hunting plan has stricter rules than the 2015 hunting, where permission was provided to those who could pay them. It led to a chaotic event that closed a few days earlier. At least 38 female bears killed the Cubs. This means that the young bear is probably dead too.
This year’s hunt will be held from December 6th to December 28th. The permit costs $100 for Florida residents and $300 for non-residents. According to FWC staff, cubs and women with cubs will not be killed.
Private land owners over 5,000 acres (2,023 hectares) can hold what FWC calls the “Bear Harvest Program” on their property based on the proposal. Bears can hunt at feeding facilities on private property. Also, bo hunting is permitted under similar rules for deer.
In the future, the FWC will foresee bear hunting between October 1st and December 31st, conditioning more research into the effects of hunting and animal populations. In the future, hunters could use up to six dogs each to chase the bear.
Florida also allows for the removal of alligator hunting from mid-August to November and the designation of invasive pythons and FWC-controlled public land from private property. The state also has its annual Python challenge, offering awards and awards for filming pythons at the Everglades in Florida.
