I joined the WTXL team as the Northwest Tallahassee neighborhood reporter in September 2023.
Protestors outside the Capitol Saturday rallying against at FWC proposed bear hunt
The FWC is proposing a bear hunt with strict rules and regulations that would take place in December
Watch to hear from opponents and to find out more about the bear hunt.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Protestors outside the Capitol Saturday looking to stop a proposed Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission black bear hunt that would take place in December.
“It’s just going to be a slaughter of Florida’s wildlife,” said Leslie Carlisle, an advocate against the proposed FWC bear hunt. “One of the most majestic animals that we have in Florida, which is the black bear.”
The FWC does have a list of proposed rules and regulations for this proposed hunt.
According to the FWC’s website, the agency wants to slow population growth to balance population numbers and suitable habitats.
“There is a finite amount of suitable bear habitat, so if bear populations continue to grow unchecked, at some point bears will have to start living in more marginal habitats, like neighborhoods.”
Their website also said “black bear populations have not reached levels where self-regulation has been exhibited anywhere in North America.”
The last black bear hunt in the state was in 2015.
Yet opponents of the hunt said, the hunt feels unfair.
“I’m just very, very upset that they’re proposing a slaughter of the bear when it’s their state too,” said Carlisle.
The FWC will discuss the bear hunt at their next commission meeting beginning May 21st in Ocala.
Protestors said they will be attending to voice their outrage.
Posted Fri, May 16, 2025 at 10:59 pm PT|Updated Fri, May 16, 2025 at 11:07 pm PT
A large bear is protective of her cub tangled in a Lake Tahoe soccer net. (California Department of Fish and Wildlife)
LAKE TAHOE, CA — Some California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers and biologists braved the nervous wrath of a mamma black bear Thursday to rescue her cub after it became entangled in a soccer net at a park in the Lake Tahoe area.
The drama unfolded early Thursday morning in the Northern California’s most popular mountain resort community.
The wildlife department received a call about a bear cub tangled in a soccer net at Kings Beach park.
“When our team arrived, they found the cub stuck—closely guarded by a very protective mama bear,” the agency wrote on Facebook.
Wildlife officials worked to keep the big bear calm, so that they could free her tangled cub.
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“With some careful teamwork to loosen the net and make sure the mama bear gave them safe space they needed to work, Wildlife Officers and Biologists safely freed the cub in just over 5 minutes. The little one darted up a nearby tree, and after a quick reunion, both bears wandered peacefully back into the wild.”
The wildlife agency also credited partners at California State Park for helping to keep the bears calm.
The rescue drew immediate praise from resident across the Golden State.
“That is so cool,” Lucille M. Hurley wrote on Facebook. “No anesthesia needed just cool calm patient teamwork.”
“It’s all fun and games until someone gets caught in the soccer net. Thank you everyone who got involved to help this baby bear,” added Bella Danielle Ramsey. “I am sure the mom was stressed out as well but glad they’re back together and they’re both OK!!”
UPDATED 12:56 PM ET May. 17, 2025 PUBLISHED 5:24 PM ET May 15, 2025
OCALA, Fla. — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently released its proposed rules for a black bear hunt ahead of its meeting next week.
Meanwhile, organizers of a group against the proposed hunt gathered Saturday at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando to voice their opinion. Members of the Animal Rights Foundation Florida say their is no justification for the hunt.
“The bears were here first,” said Bryan Wilson, foundation coordinator. “We’re moving into their areas. So any bear-human interaction is because we wound up taking their forest; taking their food source and where they live.”
What You Need To Know
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is meeting to discuss a proposed black bear hunt next week in Ocala FWC’s proposed rules for the hunt limit hunters to one bear per permit — however, the number of permits issued depends on the bear population in a given area If approved, this would bring back a black bear hunting season for the first time since 2015 FWC commissioners believe this will regulate the bear population in Florida
FWC commissioners say they believe reopening black bear hunting will regulate the population and manage growth rates. This would be the first black bear hunting season since 2015.
According to the proposed rules, they plan to establish Bear Harvest Zones and Bear Harvest Permits. The zones would exist in areas where the bear population exceeds 200.
The limit is one bear per permit, but officials say the number of permits issued will depend on the bear population in each demographic.
President of Speak Up Wekiva Chuck O’Neal is against the bear hunt. Living near Wekiva Springs State Parks, he said his backyard has become a playground for bears, he and believes there are better ways to manage the population.
“If we come back with a black bear hunt every year, that’s going to drastically reduce the number of black bears in Florida, and specifically in the central bear management unit we’re in now,” said O’Neal.
He said one of his concerns is FWC removing check-in stations. They were used to making sure all bears were legally killed. Instead, bears must be tagged and reported using the commission’s harvest reporting system within 24 hours.
“They’re removing that one key element that we used in 2015 to track the number of bears that were actually killed,” said O’Neal.
On the contrary, Lewis Pryzstup says he grew up in a family of hunters and believes the current numbers justify the hunt.
FWC reports there are more than 4,000 bears living in the state.
“There’s always going to be a bag limit, especially on something as crucial as the bear population here in Florida,” said Przystup. “They’re not not going to have a bag limit. Last time, it was a single bear if you got drawn.”
Permits would be issued through a random draw. During the first year, the proposed season would last 23 days in December. Then, the future season would occur between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.
Przystup says while the bear is a trophy to some, it’s also food that’s not going to go to waste.
“I don’t think people look at hunters the same way as another person would,” he said. “Us as hunters, we do things ethically, responsibly, we’re not going to do things that are going to make the bear suffer, do things like that. But it’s definitely something that needs to be done.”
The proposed ruling also discusses hunting with dogs, and would allow each permitted hunter bring up to nine guests with them. There is also discussion of implementing a Private Lands Bear Harvest Program, which would allow private landowners with at least 5,000 acres to bear hunt on their property.
FWC staff will discuss the black bear hunt during their commission meeting on May 21 and 22 in Ocala at the College of Central Florida.
Protestors came together in Ocala, DeLand and downtown Orlando on Saturday to protect black bears.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will meet May 21-22 to hear options for brining a bear hunt back for the first time since 2015.
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If the proposal gets approved, the hunt will last for at least three weeks in December.
“I have personal experiences running into them, and I do not consider them a threat,” said Betsy McClain, a Longwood resident who joined a protest in Lake Eola Park. “So it’s cruelty at its finest.”
“I think it’s very wrong and I think it’s sad because they have feelings as well, but not many people understand they have feelings,” said Serenity McCallister, a 13-year-old animal advocate.
“There is an overdevelopment, overpopulation, and a subdivision overpopulation. So, the bears’ habitat is getting destroyed,” said Raquel Levy, a Volusia County resident who joined the protest in DeLand.
“It is strictly a trophy hunt for the few individuals who are going to get permits to kill these bears,” said Bryan Wilson, the Central Florida coordinator for Animal Rights Foundation of Florida.
“The reality is that bear meat is actually delicious,” said Mark Barton, a supporter of bear hunting. “It’s a really great source of protein. especially if, like me, you don’t want to support the meat industry.”
Barton believes the outcomes could outweigh the risks.”
“By focusing this hunt in an area where there’s a lot of bears, you know, we can use that money to promote, more population growth in the areas where they still need help,” said Barton.
The FWC says there are more than 4,000 bears in the state.
A spokesperson said the staff started talking about the hunting last December.
“At the December 2024 Commission meeting, Commissioners directed staff to develop a range of options for the Commission’s consideration for black bear hunting in 2025. At the May 21-22, 2025, Commission meeting, staff will present options for amendments to hunting rules to implement a sustainable and repeatable hunt structure based on bear population information. Following direction from the Commission, staff will return to a future Commission meeting for a final hearing,” the FWC told WESH 2 News in an email.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) is proposing a new black bear hunting season despite public opposition and concerns about its impact on the bear population.
The proposed hunt includes a three-week season, use of hounds, baiting, and potential for bow and arrow hunting, raising ethical and management concerns.
Critics argue that focusing on human behavior changes, such as securing garbage and removing food attractants, is a more effective way to manage human-bear conflicts.
The author contends that the hunt is unnecessary and poses a risk to the genetic diversity and survival of Florida’s black bear population.
The hunting of Florida black bears is a matter of science, numbers and stewardship, and right now, it looks like the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is coming out wrong on all three. The FWC staff proposal refers to a new bear hunting season as a “highly regulated hunt.” It’s more likely a tragic trophy hunt on Florida’s black bears that will likely embarrass our state. It’s a hunt almost no one in Florida wants. A brand new poll shows that a supermajority of Florida voters, 81%, do not want a bear hunt, and even more — 89% — oppose hounding and 86% oppose baiting bears at “feeding stations.”
In 2014 and 2015, biologists conducted surveys of Florida’s bears in their core areas and suggested that there might be a mere 4,000 individuals spread across the entire state. Most of these subpopulations are not interconnected as their habitats are fragmented by human developments and highways.
In 2015, the FWC set a week-long season on bears but shut down the hunt in just 48 hours because trophy hunters killed over 300 of them. Sixty percent were females, many of them mothers.
Trophy hunters are even shamelessly taking advantage of the recent tragic bear-related death in Collier County; even as sound science shows hunting won’t prevent such incidents. Yet, FWC admits that randomly hunting bears won’t stop them from entering neighborhoods.
Changing human behaviors will. Securing garbage, removing bird feeders, and eliminating food attractants are far more effective than random hunts. In a Florida black bear study, FWC biologists found that securing bear attractants reduced human-bear interactions by 54% and reduced the chances of bears eating garbage to “zero percent.”Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
In data gathered from 34 bear-hunting states, we found that while the number of bears hunted has increased nationwide, conflicts did not decrease.
Instead of such sensible measures, FWC proposes to give trophy hunters a three-week-long season with 24 hours to call in their bear kills (to help determine when a unit quota has been filled). The 24-hour delay could result in hunters far exceeding the 187-bear quota.
FWC has in mind to permit up to ten people and six hounds to chase terrified bears through Florida’s swamps and wildlands. Once the bears were treed or cornered, hunters would get an easy and unfair shot. Hounding results in other terrible outcomes, as the hounds chase bears onto roads where they are struck by motorists, kill non-target animals including endangered panther kittens, bear cubs and deer fawns.
In addition, FWC is considering allowing private landowners to lure bears to bait piles to reinforce a taste for free, easy meals. Soon enough, however, they’ll become live targets for trophy hunters hiding behind blinds.
FWC may also authorize bow and arrow killing or archery hunting. The massive bones and thick coat of a bear make it hard for hunters to achieve a quick kill. All too often, bears wounded by bow-and-arrow hunters flee, only to die slowly from blood loss or infection.
Adding to the mayhem, FWC may allow trophy hunters to “dress” (gut and butcher) bears in the field. This could lead to misreporting the sex of bears to hide the number of females killed, particularly lactating mothers, or to cover up the killing of cubs. Nor does FWC intend to require hunters to immediately check in at an FWC station with their bears, perhaps to avoid public scrutiny. In Florida, less than 1% of residents hold hunting licenses, and only a fraction would ever hunt bears.
Bears have been balancing their ecosystems for millennia, spreading saw palmetto and other seeds across vast distances and helping to regenerate plant life. They break apart logs, speeding up decomposition and soil enrichment. Their movements through forests create spaces in which sunlight can reach the ground, encouraging diverse plant growth. We’d be doing bears no favor if we authorized a trophy hunt, which will certainly undermine the genetic diversity of their populations, with profound ramifications for their survival in Florida’s increasingly volatile weather systems.
It amounts to this. Black bears are too valuable to our state to see them put at risk in so reckless a fashion. There is no need to kill them for something so frivolous as a trophy part or bragging rights, and we simply shouldn’t let it happen. The simple truth in 21st century Florida is that black bears deserve both our mercy and our protection, and we should adopt public policies shaped by that conviction.
Kate MacFall is the Florida state director for Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States.
It was 60 years ago that the group The Outsiders crooned the lyrics “I can’t wait forever; Even though you want me to.”
They could well have been singing about the frustration hunters feel that have not bagged a spring gobbler as the final days of the season slip away. Of course, it would be another three years before Pennsylvania had a spring gobbler season, but the message is not lost.
So, one of the best ways to have an encounter is by throwing caution to the wind and hunting turkeys on the roost in the morning or when they are returning to roost in the evening. Be advised, however, this strategy can result in busting the bird and spending what remains of the season searching out its new roost tree.
In the early days of the season the ideal distance when setting up on a roosted bird is generally within 100-150 yards, as the goal is to get close enough to potentially call them into shooting range, but not so close that you are easily seen or heard. As the days run out on the season, desperate times call for desperate tactics, so through caution to the wind, take advantage of the heavy foliage and quietly move in as close as possible without spooking the bird.
Some hunters prefer to get as close as 40-50 yards, especially if the turkey is roosting alone. If a gobbler is roosting with hens, it’s generally best to back off 50-60 yards away when setting up.
While being aggressive when hunting roosting birds in the late season can result in a tagged bird, avoid being careless and reckless. Just because the treetops are in full foliage avoid walking across open fields to set up and breaking limbs and branches when moving through the woods.
Always be aware of wind direction that will carry sound to a roosted bird. One factor that remains constant – no matter if hunting the opening morning of the season or the final hours on the final day – is the importance of stealth.
If hunting in the morning, once set-up start calling softly to attract the bird and add some scratching in leaves to imitate the sound of feeding hens. As the goal is to get as close to the roost tree as possible without spooking the turkey, be prepared for the turkey to fly down and be in position to take a shot.
Remember, turkeys roost in areas where they won’t be disturbed. Flying up in the evenings as sunset approaches and fly down in the morning near sunrise. Turkeys will rarely move to different roosts in the night, as they have poor night vision and they like relatively clear areas to fly up from and fly down to.
When scouting for roosting trees, which are often stained by droppings, concentrate on areas near water sources, large mature trees and open areas with good cover. Look for ridges, field edges and places where turkeys are likely to feed or travel.
Even if a bird goes quiet once it flies down, it will usually gobble on the roost in the mornings and evenings. Generally, soft calling is a beast in the morning and louder more aggressive calls in the afternoon will get a gobbler fired up that is working its way back to roost.
There is no mistaking a roosting area as the area should have droppings and feathers from birds dusting. Scratch marks and dusting bowls are easy to find, but also look for travel routes as turkeys establish specific routes along paths between feeding areas and roosting sites.
Setting up along the route the bird will use to get to the roost can be highly effective in the afternoon. This means patterning your bird and then waiting for him to walk by, rather than calling to him to try to lure him in, and this technique can be a game changer.
Avoid using decoys with this afternoon strategy, as the bird wants everything to be normal – right up until the load of shot finds its mark.
BRUSSELS/PARIS, May 19 (Reuters) – Brazil, the world’s largest poultry exporter and main poultry meat importer into the European Union, is no longer allowed to ship poultry and meat products to the EU due to the outbreak of bird flu, the European Commission said on Monday.
This comes after Brazil confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu on a poultry farm on Friday, triggering protocols for a country-wide trade ban from top buyer China and state-wide restrictions for other major consumers such as Japan.
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“EU import conditions require that the country of export (Brazil) is free of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza,” a European Commission spokesperson said in an email.
“Brazilian authorities can no longer sign such animal health certificates for export into the EU and such certificates cannot be issued. No poultry/meat products can be exported to the EU from any part of the Brazilian territory.”
Brazilian Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said on Friday that under existing protocols, countries including China, the European Union and South Korea would ban poultry imports from Brazil for 60 days.
Item 1 of 2 A drone view shows an excavator moving earth next to a hole in the ground at a poultry farm, after Brazil confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu on Friday, triggering protocols for a country-wide trade ban from top buyer China and state-wide restrictions for other major consumers, in Montenegro, Brazil May 17, 2025. REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo
[1/2]A drone view shows an excavator moving earth next to a hole in the ground at a poultry farm, after Brazil confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu on Friday, triggering protocols for a country-wide trade ban from top buyer China and state-wide restrictions for other major consumers, in… Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more
But the Commission did not give any timeframe. It noted that because of the outbreak, which was detected on a farm in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the entire territory of Brazil had suspended its official status of being “free of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza”. EU import conditions require that an export country be free of HPAI.
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The EU is only a small market for Brazil, which is dominated by China, the United Emirates, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
In 2024, Brazil exported more than 5 million tons of poultry meat. Of these approximately 4.4% headed to the EU, national pork and poultry group ABPA said.
Of total EU poultry imports, Brazil is the main origin, with a share of 32% last year, according to official EU data. However, the volume remained rather thin with most of the EU consumption supplied locally.
Still, despite the small volumes the cheaper, high added-value, Brazilian imports have pressured EU prices. A halt in imports is therefore likely to come as a relief for the local poultry industry.
