Fort Lauderdale Activists Protest Black Bear Trophy Hunt

Miami-area animal advocates are calling on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to cancel a December black bear trophy hunt where all sorts of "heinous" killing methods are up for debate, advocates tell New Times.

FWC, which claims its mission is "managing fish and wildlife resources for their long-term well-being and the benefit of people," is set to issue 187 black bear hunting permits across 31 counties. This will allow hunters statewide to help combat the growing black bear population with three weeks of bear hunting in mid-December, according to Tallahassee Democrat.

Animal advocacy group Bear Defenders encourages concerned citizens to contact Gov. Ron DeSantis, as well as the FWC, to oppose the hunt. It's also planning statewide protests to bring awareness to a May 21 vote on proposed rules for the hunt, including the use of hunting dogs, bait, and archery equipment, the latter of which protesters say only increases the likelihood of permanent injury without actually killing the animal.

South Florida protesters began with a demonstration Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale and have plans for another protest at Lincoln Road Mall in Miami at 11 a.m. Saturday. Bear Defender also has protests planned for Jacksonville, Orlando, Gainesville, Tallahassee, and eight other cities on Saturday.

"The weird thing about this is they're supposed to complete a black bear population study in 2030," Bear Defender founder Adam Sugalski tells New Times. "So, we're perplexed at why they're doing this in the middle of the study."

According to a Bear Hunter petition to stop the hunt, which has amassed 33,423 signatures, "FWC's ongoing bear population study will not be completed until 2029–2030. Any decision to reinstate a bear hunt before the study's conclusion would, therefore, be made without critical population data necessary for informed wildlife management."

Despite the advocacy group's concerns, FWC touts successful conservation efforts that helped restore black bear populations from several hundred in the 1970s to more than 4,000 today.

According to a statement on its website, the commission's objective is to "balance species population numbers with suitable habitat and to maintain a healthy population."

"There is a finite amount of suitable bear habitat," the statement reads. "So if bear populations continue to grow unchecked, at some point bears will have to start living in more marginal habitats, like neighborhoods."

FWC representatives denied New Times' interview requests.

Protesters, however, argue the motive behind the hunt is economic, not ecological, Miami advocate and New Times correspondent Melanie Oliva says.

"They're making decisions based on what developers want," Oliva tells New Times.

Oliva and Sugalski disputed the notion that black bear encounters are becoming more prevalent because their populations are growing.

They argue the state's growing population, which puts Florida at or near the top of nearly all state growth lists, is pushing human development into black bear habitats. The encounters most often occur in central and northern Florida, Sugalski tells New Times.

"People are moving into neighborhoods right next to the woods and then leave their trash out and wonder why they're seeing bears," Sugalski tells New Times. "Bears aren't going to change their behavior because you moved into their home."

Protesters say they began to worry for the bear population when DeSantis, in June 2024, signed HB 87, also known as The Self Defense Act of 2024, which allows Floridians to shoot and kill a bear if they feel threatened by it. Because the law took effect during FWC's black bear population study, which is still five years from completion, there's no telling what the numbers are prior to the planned December hunt.

Sugalski tells New Times he fears the FWC doesn't care how many black bears are killed in December because, unlike the last FWC-approved hunt in 2015, there will be no check-in stations to count the number of bears killed.

"In 2015, there was a 304-bear limit for the hunt," Sugalski tells New Times. "298 were killed in 48 hours. They had to call off the hunt."