Florida Moves to Legalize Self-Defense Against Bear Attacks

On February 15, 2024, the Florida Home handed CS/HB 87: Taking of Bears. The invoice handed 88 to 29. It’ll now be despatched to the Florida Senate. The invoice has been prompted by a burgeoning black bear inhabitants in Florida, which has elevated exponentially from 300 – 500 bears in 1974 to 2,650 in 2002 to an estimated 4,350 in 2016. No official inhabitants estimate has been made for eight years. The bear inhabitants elevated 60% from 2002 to 2014/15. If the development continues into 2024, the black bear inhabitants will likely be estimated at over 6,000. Cubs usually are not included within the inhabitants estimates. From a 2016 article revealed within the news-journalonline.com:

An estimated 4,350 grownup black bears stay throughout the state, a rise of 60 p.c for the reason that final statewide estimate in 2002, stated Thomas Eason, director of habitat and species conservation for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee. 

Because the bear inhabitants has expanded into areas with a better density of individuals, the best recognized reason for grownup bear deaths is car collisions. 276 bears had been killed in car collisions in 2020, 289 in 2021, and 286 in 2022. The most typical reason for bear cub mortality is assaults by grownup male bears.

The invoice strikes to stability the safety of people, their pets, and their houses with the safety of bears. Deadly power could also be used to cease a bear provided that the human moderately fears for his or her security, the protection of others, the protection of their pet, or substantial harm to a dwelling. From the invoice:

(a) The particular person moderately believed that his or her motion was essential to keep away from an imminent menace of demise or severe bodily harm to himself or herself or one other, an imminent menace of demise or severe bodily harm to a pet, or substantial harm to a dwelling as outlined in s. 776.013(5);

The invoice requires an individual who kills a bear in such a circumstance to inform the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee inside 24 hours. The one who killed the bear just isn’t allowed to take possession of the bear.

Conflicts between bears and people are rising in Florida. Persons are hesitant to defend themselves, their pets, and their property due to the bears’ protected standing. The quantity of people that make bodily contact with a bear throughout a human/bear battle is small. From a earlier AmmoLand article:

There have been 37 bear-human conflicts the place the bear made bodily contact with an individual from 2006 to 2022, in accordance with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Fee desk. Given estimates of the bear inhabitants (in accordance with FWC), that might be one bodily contact battle for each 1600 bears per yr. There are in all probability many extra conflicts the place bears destroy property and/or are pushed off with out contact with people.

The bear inhabitants in Florida just isn’t endangered. It’s increasing quickly into areas with excessive human populations. Conflicts are inevitable as bears habituate themselves to human environments and be taught that people usually are not allowed to defend themselves or their property.  The invoice is a commonsense measure to permit people below menace to defend themselves, their pets, and their houses from these bears which have misplaced their concern of people. The variety of bears killed in such conflicts will likely be far smaller than the variety of bears killed in car collisions or the variety of cubs killed by grownup male bears.  The few bears killed in human/bear conflicts is not going to have a measurable affect on the rising Florida bear inhabitants. The Florida Senate has a Republican majority of 28-12. The invoice has a superb likelihood of passage.

If the invoice passes, fewer than 30 bears a yr will likely be killed below its umbrella. The variety of complaints involving bears will lower, and the variety of bears in Florida will proceed to extend.

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a navy officer, was on the College of Wisconsin Pistol Group for 4 years, and was first licensed to show firearms security in 1973. He taught the Arizona hid carry course for fifteen years till the objective of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has levels in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Division of Protection after a 30 yr profession in Military Analysis, Growth, Testing, and Analysis.