Doughnuts and bullets - Florida’s slob hunters
October 7th, 2008 by admin
At last month’s Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) meeting in Jacksonville, hunters asked that Florida resurrect a hunting season for black bears (Florida’s bear hunt was halted in 1994 to protect the animals whose numbers had drastically declined). Since the meeting, we’ve learned what hunters mean when they ask for a return of bear hunting.
The FWC’s Division of Law Enforcement reported that on September 26, a wildlife officer in Columbia County observed hunters bait large barrels with honey buns and doughnuts and then climb into a tree stand to wait for a bear to be lured to the smell. A short time later, according to the officer’s report, “a shot rang out and a bear’s moans were heard.” The two hunters were cited for violating hunting regulations.
At the FWC meeting, hunters raised the threat from bears with a taste for human garbage as one of the reasons that a hunt was necessary. Ironically, it is the slob hunters in this incident who are creating “problem” bears by encouraging them to eat human food.
ARFF will fight any proposal to allow hunters to kill bears in Florida.