Among the Panhandle hunters were Andrew Rapuzzi and his daughter Julie, who shot a bear in their yard.
Advertisement
The commission had set quotas for each of four areas where hunting was allowed, and Wiley shut down two of them at the end of the first day of the hunt because they exceeded their limit of dead bears.
Authorities have said they were not concerned by the numbers, saying it was a sign that the bear population was higher than initially thought.
Florida’s black bears were last hunted in 1994. By the afternoon of the second day that number swelled to 295.
“There has been a need to make seasons longer, make them more liberal, because there have been so many predators and they’re not as controlled as they should be”, said Nick Pinizzotto, president and chief executive officer of the Sportsmen’s Alliance.
FWC concluded that harvest objectives were met in two bear management units (BMUs), and via measures in place, closed the East Panhandle and the Central BMUs for the rest of the season beginning Sunday, October 25.
It said that two regions closed to hunting after the first day, and two more were closed on Sunday night. “FWC took a conservative approach to setting harvest objectives, building in buffers so the number of bears harvested will stabilize growing populations while ensuring healthy bear numbers”, the agency said in a statement.
Bear hunting was sanctioned for the first time in 21 years after populations swelled.
Wildlife conservation groups have opposed the hunt.
Thirty-two other states also allow black bear hunts.
Hunters were required to bring kills to check-in stations within 12 hours of recovering the carcass. If a black bear attacks you, fight back aggressively.
Cameras have caught bears walking by bicyclists on a neighborhood street, roaming through yards and going through garbage. Almost 3,800 bear-hunting permits had been issued in Florida as of Friday. Despite the bear’s size, Linsday said they are surprisingly stealthy. “It’s nice being able to take this one out”. In September, an activist group called “Speak Up, Wekiva” filed an emergency order to get a temporary injunction on the hunt.
And although there have been inquiries, the 72-year-old taxidermist says so far, no one has brought in a bear to his shop.
Smith shot a 475-pound bear on his private property near Eustis, and says it was a problem for him and his neighbors for years. I’ve seen bears a lot. But it was stopped early because hunters killed so many.
Advertisement
Hunters, a few armed with bows and arrows, others guns, killed bear son both public and private properties. Another received a warning for killing a bear that was underweight.
