Franklin County Commissioners say they will seek a state grant to ensure that every resident in Franklin County can have a bear proof garbage can.
Florida is home to an estimated 6000 black bears which cover a large portion of the state, with about 1000 in Franklin and surrounding counties.
With more bears, there is a much greater chance of human/bear interaction and also a greater need for people to act responsibly.
Bears can get all of the food they need from the woods, but they will go anywhere where food is easily available.
Garbage cans, pet food and dirty grills are some of their favorite spots.
State officials get about 170 calls a year in Franklin County about bears and about a quarter of the calls are about bears in residential garbage.
The primary response to those calls is to tell the person to secure their trash.
If that doesn’t work, then the bear is either captured and moved or it is killed.
The state has killed about 62 bears in Franklin County in the past 10 years.
The problem is that removing or killing the bear does not solve the problem – there is always another bear to take its place.
But securing trash does fix the problem, studies done in Florida have shown a 66 percent drop in bear related calls when household garbage is secured.
County commissioners say there is money available at the state level to help people pay to bear proof their garbage cans, but so far, they haven’t applied for the money.
That will change at their next meeting when they plan to approve a request for state assistance to bear proof garbage cans in all areas of the county.
Not only would that save residents from having to pick up their trash multiple times a week, but it would also give the bears less of an incentive to wander into neighborhoods.
Florida is home to an estimated 6000 black bears which cover a large portion of the state, with about 1000 in Franklin and surrounding counties.
With more bears, there is a much greater chance of human/bear interaction and also a greater need for people to act responsibly.
Bears can get all of the food they need from the woods, but they will go anywhere where food is easily available.
Garbage cans, pet food and dirty grills are some of their favorite spots.
State officials get about 170 calls a year in Franklin County about bears and about a quarter of the calls are about bears in residential garbage.
The primary response to those calls is to tell the person to secure their trash.
If that doesn’t work, then the bear is either captured and moved or it is killed.
The state has killed about 62 bears in Franklin County in the past 10 years.
The problem is that removing or killing the bear does not solve the problem – there is always another bear to take its place.
But securing trash does fix the problem, studies done in Florida have shown a 66 percent drop in bear related calls when household garbage is secured.
County commissioners say there is money available at the state level to help people pay to bear proof their garbage cans, but so far, they haven’t applied for the money.
That will change at their next meeting when they plan to approve a request for state assistance to bear proof garbage cans in all areas of the county.
Not only would that save residents from having to pick up their trash multiple times a week, but it would also give the bears less of an incentive to wander into neighborhoods.
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