FLORIDA – Organizations dedicated to helping bears in Florida spoke against Governor Ron DeSantis signing a bill that makes it easier to shoot and kill bears in self-defense.
RELATED: Gov. DeSantis signs bill that makes it easier for people to shoot, kill bears in self-defense
Katrina Shadix, the executive director of Bear Warriors United said they are disappointed in DeSantis for signing the bill.
The bill’s title is “Taking Bears”. It would allow a person to kill a bear without certain penalties under specified conditions. That’s something Shadix’s organization is against.
“What this is, is basically a license to kill,” Shadix said. “People can kill 365 days a year we know that is not sustainable for any population, let alone the Florida black bear population.”
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida is home to only one kind of bear, the black bear.
It estimates there’s a little more than 4,000 of them in the state.
These are guidelines to follow under this law to make sure you don’t face civil or criminal penalties when you kill a bear:
- You have to reasonably believe this was necessary to avoid you from being hurt or killed or your pets.
- It’s important you didn’t lure them with food
- That you didn’t intentionally put yourself in harms way, to make it likely you’d need to kill
- You notify FWC within 24 hours of killing the bear
- And YOU can’t keep, sell or dispose of any part of the bear yourself
Shadix said in addition to this law being harmful to bears, she thinks it’ll unintentionally hurt humans too.
“It doesn’t restrict where you can shoot bears and a lot of these bear sightings are in suburban neighborhoods with zero outlines. So we have someone who’s going to fire a gun at a moving target 50 feet from your child’s window.
She said that could be dangerous, which is why her organization is speaking with lawyers to file a lawsuit.
“We are filing it because it oversteps the constitutional authority of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission,” Shadix said.
The FWC commented on the bill and said, “Yesterday, the governor signed HB 87/SB 632, a bill that codifies current Commission rule and allows Floridians to defend themselves with lethal force from black bears. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) is committed to the safety of Floridians.”