Please voice your opinion on this to the state
I am disturbed to read this story in the Orlando Sentinel about the possibility of opening up hunting to include Florida Black Bears.
All the numbers show the increase in black bears in the state, but should they allow hunters to go after them again, the numbers could diminish. It has happened before and could happen again.
For the record, I am not against hunters. I also realize the only predator the black bear has is man. But the population of Florida and the population of the black bear are in such disproportion, it doesn't seem quite fair to me that we have protected the bears and now that they are coming back, we should allow man to hunt them again.
If you travel the center part of the state, through what used to be woods and swamps, you can see the empty developments left by the real estate slump and bank foreclosures. Acres upon acres of empty subdivisions, especially north of Orlando and up the the Ocala National Forest.
When a bear wanders down to a settled area, people become frightened and have no idea what to do. Most don't want the bears destroyed, but don't want them living in their backyards.
There is controlled hunting of alligators to try and maintain their population. Maybe controlled hunting of bears, by permit only, would be a way to help control these shy creatures.
Please voice your opinion to the state and let your voice be heard. Every gun toting man in Florida is going to be itching to shoot a bear. I don't know why, as most of these folks are not going to be harvesting the meat, only the skin. Control is the key to this problem. I hope the state doesn't call for open season on bear.
All the numbers show the increase in black bears in the state, but should they allow hunters to go after them again, the numbers could diminish. It has happened before and could happen again.
For the record, I am not against hunters. I also realize the only predator the black bear has is man. But the population of Florida and the population of the black bear are in such disproportion, it doesn't seem quite fair to me that we have protected the bears and now that they are coming back, we should allow man to hunt them again.
If you travel the center part of the state, through what used to be woods and swamps, you can see the empty developments left by the real estate slump and bank foreclosures. Acres upon acres of empty subdivisions, especially north of Orlando and up the the Ocala National Forest.
When a bear wanders down to a settled area, people become frightened and have no idea what to do. Most don't want the bears destroyed, but don't want them living in their backyards.
There is controlled hunting of alligators to try and maintain their population. Maybe controlled hunting of bears, by permit only, would be a way to help control these shy creatures.
Please voice your opinion to the state and let your voice be heard. Every gun toting man in Florida is going to be itching to shoot a bear. I don't know why, as most of these folks are not going to be harvesting the meat, only the skin. Control is the key to this problem. I hope the state doesn't call for open season on bear.
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