State's first bear hunt in decades will resume Sunday, but not in Central Florida

[Baitball Blogger]

Florida's first bear hunt in decades will resume Sunday, but not in Central Florida.

Hunters in the state's central region killed 99 bears -- too close to the 100-bear quota for the region, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman said.

FWC officials said 207 bears were killed state-wide, fewer than the 320-bear limit set by the commission.

"The harvest objective was set as the number we want to achieve to stabilize the growing populations," FWC spokeswoman Susan Smith said. "When we set them, we did so with allowable range, recognizing that the harvest may exceed the objective."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-florida-bear-hunt-kill-2015-20151024-story.html

[Skittles]

1. cowards just want to have fun

[restorefreedom]

2. its not a "harvest"

how many more euphemisms are people gonna try and use for killing a sentient being?

[Baitball Blogger]

3. I thought the same thing at first.

But, they killed 99 in one day. Sounds like they were as abundant as squirrels. If we had a place to relocate them, we probably would.

[restorefreedom]

4. there may have been a good number, but there are plenty of places with a lot of land

esp alaska. people would rather kill than save, its just that simple imo

[GGJohn]

5. No, it's not just that simple,

no other state wanted them, they have their own bear population problems, so a culling of the bear herd was deemed the best solution for the overpopulation.

[restorefreedom]

6. then perhaps we need to look at the cause

the overpopulation happened ....why.....if the why can be addressed, then not as many bears born, no overpopulation problem. but I do think some places encourage the overpopulation problem so that they have a reason to "cull" the herd, thereby selling more hunting licenses and making more money. That's the cynic in me but I know what happens in some places.

[virginia mountainman]

7. As a hunter...well, I used to substance hunt anyhow..

In most states, the understanding is that ALL the money raised by the selling of hunting licenses, go back into conservation efforts. Bear overpopulation causes bears to compete for limited food supplies in their area, when that happens you have bears finding their ways into populated areas, and no good can come of that for anyone involved. We live with bears here at my home, and we had a neighbor that refused to get rid of her table scraps in a responsible way, and she would dutifully dump them out every morning 100 feet from where my kindergartner was waiting for the bus.

We had two very LARGE bears (I mean HUGE, and I have seen many bears around here) that would wait nearby for her to put out her scraps, right at school bus time..

As a result, I literally had to watch over my kids, and another neighbor's teenage daughters, with a loaded rifle every morning as they waited for the school bus. Because of the bears getting the scraps 100 feet away..

Eventually I, and the other neighbors, raised so much hell about it, and she refused to stop putting her scraps out in the early morning that the game warden, eventually relocated the bears. The had been causing mayhem in other parts of the community as well, getting into trash, breaking into outbuildings, etc..

Also overpopulation will cause other problems, like diseases and and increase of auto accidents.

Another note about hunting licenses, a very sad side effect of the "dentist that shot the lion" over in africa was that the dentist paid BIG BUCKS, well into the 10's of thousands of dollars to have the "privilege" of shooting a lion, since all the hell raising about that. People are not paying to go on those hunts anymore, all that money, that was to be used to pay for conservation efforts, and the locals had no problem with the hunt. Now no one is paying to hunt, and the money is running out.. Once the money runs out, their will be no one to stop the poachers from doing whatever they want...A very unintended consequence.

Also, before anyone rips into me, I ONLY took animals that were to be eaten, I have NEVER shot any animal for "sport" there are NO "heads" or skins, or any other sign around my home that says "I was a hunter"... For me, it was about meat on the table.

[restorefreedom]

8. i understand the problems of overpopulation

but i think once the population is at a reasonable level, we should take steps to keep it low, but i know that does not sit well with the hunters. also habitat encroachment is a serious issue for many species, which goes to zoning, development, etc.

my brother is a meat hunter and i get it. no trophies either. no heads in his house thank goodness. but i have a small request that i will ask of all hunters i interact with...can you guys please stop using the word "take." i don't know how it started, but i think if people are going to kill an animal to eat it, it should be plainly acknowledged that an animal died and it was because someone killed it. it wasn't kidnapped, its dead. seems like a small thing, but that has always been a pet peeve of mine. and when walter palmer kept saying it, well i will just leave it there. he is a total scumbag and does make it harder for sustenance hunters to not be seen in the same light.

[GGJohn]

9. That's a fair request,

and in the future, I will do my best to refrain from using the word take.

[restorefreedom]

10. thank you!

wasn't sure how that would be received.

appreciate it!

[virginia mountainman]

11. IMHO the best way too keep the population low..

Is controlled hunting every season, unfortunately hunting is declining, you see this in exploding deer populations here where I live, many auto accidents, and sick deer wasting away... When i come home at night, it is commonplace to have more than 10 deer, in my yard, I have blackberries, mulberry trees, and apple trees on the property, it draws them in. Even though I had not hunted in years, I would allow "carefully selected" folks to hunt my property just because the population was getting extreme. And deer can be very dangerous and aggressive to humans and pets, especially when they are in the "rut".

When I started hunting, their was a season limit of 3, and only on one day could you get a single doe (female), now I am unsure of the limit, but their is no restrictions on the hunting of doe during the season, other than the bag limit, and you can purchase as many extra "big game" tags as you want. When I was hunting, there was no legal way to hunt bear here, in the past 5 years or so, they have opened a "bear' season here, and now Elk are starting to return to the area. A few years ago, an Elk was harvested about 10 miles from here, the first one heard about in the area for well over a century.

Conservation is working, a bit, too well in some respects.

I have no idea who started the "take" thing, I will refrain.

EDITED TO ADD, Most of the hunters I know, and I know a lot of them, are very open to having healthy population levels, most hunters I know only harvest one, or two, if they get more, they are giving the meat away to poor folks in the community (I did that for several years, one or two for my family one more, for whomever needed it, and were unable to get one on their own).. Many deer here are starting to be diseased, and that is no good for anyone, including the deer.

[restorefreedom]

12. i don't want to see overpopulation either

it is never good for the species or the ecosystem. i do wish more research was being done into birth control options/behaviorial intervention (disrupting mating options, etc). i hate to mess with any wild species, but i guess i would rather not see them get born at all than have all the problems and disease they have just to end up dead anyway.

humans unintentionally have caused a lot of disruption through development patterns and other activities.

i do hope the hunters that are allowed to participate are good shots. the idea of wounded animals running off (like cecil) makes me ill.

and thank you! for saying you will refrain from using the word "take".... really appreciate it!

[GGJohn]

13. +10000.

Thank you for the civil conversation, more often then not, hunters are vilified by a few on this board.
I commend you for the well thought out posts.

[restorefreedom]

14. thanks, and you too. as i may have mentioned,

one brother is a food hunter and i am an vegan, so we have had some interesting chats. and for those who do want to eat meat, i prefer "good shot" hunting of a free being to factory farmed horror and obscenely inhumane slaughter. neither is for me, but he is willing to go into the woods, face potential peril, and get blood on his hands to fill his freezer. other than trying to convince him to be vegan (a worthless endeavor, trust me), i have no counter to that.

peace,

[GGJohn]

15. LOL.

I know what you mean, my oldest sister is a dedicated vegan, always trying to get us to change our diet, but in a friendly way.
Those factory farms are abominations that should be outlawed due to the cruelty to the animals that have the misfortune of existing there, not living there, but existing there.

Peace to you and your family.

[restorefreedom]

16. funny how the vegans and the hunters sometimes end up

in the same family.

and amen about getting rid of slaughterhouse/factory farm hell

peace to you and yours, too!