Governor Ron Desantis on Friday signed a bill that will allow people to kill black bears without a permit or authorization if a person feels threatened on private property.
The new law will take effect on July 1st.
The new rule does not allow bear hunting, it is only for self-protection on your own property.
A person can still be prosecuted if it turns out they lured the bear with food or attractants for an illegal purpose, including, but not limited to, training dogs to hunt bears.
The new law requires that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission be notified within 24 hours of the bear’s taking.
Possession, sale, or disposal of the captured bear or its parts is prohibited, with the responsibility of disposal resting on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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.
There has been a growing number of human/bear interactions in recent years as the black bear population has grown and more bears are finding their way into neighborhoods where food from garbage cans is easy to get.
The most effective way to stop bear/human interactions is to secure your trash so bears can’t get to it.
Studies done in Florida have shown a 66 percent drop in bear related calls when household garbage is secured.
The new law will take effect on July 1st.
The new rule does not allow bear hunting, it is only for self-protection on your own property.
A person can still be prosecuted if it turns out they lured the bear with food or attractants for an illegal purpose, including, but not limited to, training dogs to hunt bears.
The new law requires that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission be notified within 24 hours of the bear’s taking.
Possession, sale, or disposal of the captured bear or its parts is prohibited, with the responsibility of disposal resting on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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.
There has been a growing number of human/bear interactions in recent years as the black bear population has grown and more bears are finding their way into neighborhoods where food from garbage cans is easy to get.
The most effective way to stop bear/human interactions is to secure your trash so bears can’t get to it.
Studies done in Florida have shown a 66 percent drop in bear related calls when household garbage is secured.
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