Florida

Legislature votes to allow people to kill Florida black bears in self-defense anywhere in the state – Florida Phoenix

Published

9 months ago

February 21, 2024

Legislature votes to allow people to kill Florida black bears in self-defense anywhere in the state – Florida Phoenix

The GOP-controlled Legislature has approved a controversial measure to allow people to kill black bears in self-defense anywhere in the state. Most Democrats opposed the measure, and the legislation now goes to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who will need to decide whether to make it easier to kill bears in Florida.

The measure, called the “Self-Defense Act” (SB 632), says that an individual would not be subject to any criminal or civil penalty for shooting and killing a bear if the person believed that they were in an “imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to himself or to others.”

It would also be legal as long as the person did not lure the bear with food or “attractants for an illegal purpose,” such as training dogs to hunt bears. And it requires that the person who killed the bear that they must notify the Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) within 24 hours after the shooting, and may not possess, sell or dispose of the bear or its parts.

On the Senate floor on Wednesday, Democrats opposed the measure, with some saying that it would be more appropriate to emphasize education and mandate that people secure their garbage.

Animal rights advocates have argued strongly against the bill.

Kate MacFall, the Florida state director of the Humane Society of the United States, wrote recently in an op-ed published by the Tampa Bay Times, saying that “bears are critical to Florida’s ecosystem — they spread even more seed than birds.” She added in the op-ed: “They’re also extremely family-oriented, as mother bears will spend up to two years taking care of their cubs. Because bears have small litters and are extremely slow to reproduce, letting individuals to kill them for any perceived ‘threat’ would allow unacceptable losses to their population.”

MacFall now wants to call on members of the public to tell DeSantis to veto the bill.

The Senate bill passed 24-12, with Republican Ileana Garcia joining 11 Democrats in opposing the measure. In the House version passed last week, the bill passed mostly along party lines, with three Republicans voting against the measure and four Democrats supporting it.

Senators spoke about their views on bear killings.

“If you choose to live in an area where you know that there are bears, then you have to behave in a certain area, so as to not attract your bears,” said Broward County Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky. “And we know this is a gun happy culture and giving them the permission to shoot is what this bill is doing instead of taking every single precaution that we could possibly take.”

But Miami-Dade County Republican Ana Maria Rodriguez said that while bears may be prevalent in more rural areas of the state, she actually had a bear wandering along the same street where her children play every day in her South Florida district last year.

“To me this bill is about safety and protecting our families on our property,” she said. “I don’t live in North Florida. I live in the southernmost district. I live in Homestead, but I actually had a bear on my block, which is pretty rare. But I do think that it’s important for each and every Floridian in each and every district not just North Florida have the ability to protect their families.”

Broward County Democratic Sen. Lori Berman worried about “open shooting on our streets in any area.”

“You’re jeopardizing people. You’re jeopardizing children,” she said, adding that if people felt threatened by a bear, they should call local law enforcement to handle the situation.

But North Florida Republican Corey Simon, the sponsor of the Senate measure, said that many of his constituents live in rural areas where law enforcement may not be able to respond so quickly.

“In those fiscally constrained counties, when you only have two or three deputies on call at a time, showing up at your house could be two hours, or a bear issue could be the next day,” he said. “It just depends on how many folks and how close they may be to the residents. And what we don’t want to do is hamstring our people in thinking that they can’t protect themselves.”

Black bears (the only bear that lives in Florida) were labeled an endangered species by the Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) back in the 1970s, but after decades of statewide protections and management, FWC determined in 2012 that they were no longer facing a high risk of extinction and were removed from the state threatened list, according to a staff analysis.

FWC estimated the statewide bear population to be approximately 4,050 bears, according to a 2017 report – the last time they provided an estimate.

According to a Senate bill analysis, as the populations of both humans and bears have expanded in the state, there has been an increase in human-bear conflicts, particularly in residential areas, where bears often search for food. Between 2009 and 2018, FWC euthanized an average of 38 bears annually due to public safety risks. The FWC found that a majority of the mortalities were associated with bears seeking out unsecured garbage or other human-provided food sources. In 2022, FWC received 5,907 calls relating to bears, with 36 percent considered “core complaints.”

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Florida

ESPN Highlights Billy Napier Redemption Arc with Florida Gators

Published

3 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

ESPN Highlights Billy Napier Redemption Arc with Florida Gators

It’s been a good couple weeks for Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier. He’s picked up two long-awaited SEC wins. One is his first win over LSU and another is his first top-10 win since the Gators beat No. 7 Utah in his first game as their head coach.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg made sure to give him some love in their college football Week 13 takeaways.

He considers Napier, along with Oklahoma’s Brent Venables and Auburn’s Hugh Freeze to have further redeemed themselves with big wins on Saturday.

“But Napier, Venables and Freeze all strengthened their profiles and elevated hope for the future by leading their teams to signature wins in Week 13.”

Rittenberg was impressed by Florida’s continuing to bend but not break on defense and the performance of true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway. This all culminated in what could have spoiled Ole Miss’ playoff ambitions.

“Napier, whose Florida team had outclassed LSU the week before in The Swamp, likely eliminated Ole Miss from CFP contention with an excellent second half. A Gators defense that struggled early allowed only three points in the final 39 minutes and intercepted Jaxson Dart twice in the closing minutes, and Florida got impressive play from its own young quarterback, DJ Lagway.”

Napier was also given credit for having shown “real signs of promise before Week 13.”

Florida took No. 8 Tennessee to overtime, losing 23-17. But more impressively took Georgia down to the wire despite Lagway being carted off with a hamstring injury. While the final score was 34-20, those who watched know that it was a one-score game until about four minutes to go. That gave Florida props, but now he’s beaten ranked opponents.

Now, Florida has a shot to finish with its first winning record since 2020 and win its first bowl game since 2019.

Rittenberg concluded his takes by saying Napier, along with Vernables and Freeze, has given “tangible evidence to cite that better days might be ahead.”

It sure is finally starting to look that way.

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Florida

Western Carolina visits Florida State following Stansberry’s 20-point game

Published

11 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

Western Carolina visits Florida State following Stansberry’s 20-point game

Associated Press

Western Carolina Catamounts (2-2) at Florida State Seminoles (6-1)

Tallahassee, Florida; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Western Carolina plays Florida State after Cord Stansberry scored 20 points in Western Carolina’s 82-69 loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

The Seminoles are 3-1 on their home court. Florida State is 5-1 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 12.4 turnovers per game.

Western Carolina finished 11-8 in SoCon action and 10-6 on the road a season ago. The Catamounts averaged 11.3 assists per game on 28.2 made field goals last season.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Florida

Florida Gators Put Nation on Notice with Ole Miss Win

Published

19 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Florida Gators Put Nation on Notice with Ole Miss Win

It’s been a good couple weeks for the Florida Gators.

First, they take down No. 22 LSU, 27-16, with a bend but don’t break approach. Then, they follow that up by upsetting No. 9 Ole Miss, 24-17. With that latter win, heads really began to turn. It was one thing to put up fights against Tennessee and Georgia, but now, they’re beginning to take down these formidable opponents.

The analysts are starting to talk them up. ESPN’s College Gameday analyst Kirk Herbstreit is ready to hand head coach Billy Napier the award for coach of the year. He made sure to include that he thinks quarterback DJ Lagway is going to be something special.

“Can a guy with a team that will finish 7-5 win the coach of the year award? He should!!” Herbstreit said in a tweet. “Billy Napier and [the Florida Gators, after being 4-5 and losing two straight, have beaten LSU and Ole Miss. So impressive to see this fight from the Gators and their fans after having a tough year. And, oh yeah, DJ Lagway is the REAL DEAL!”

Big Cat from Barstool Sports jumped on X (formerly Twitter) and said, “The Florida Gators may need a playoff berth.”

Now, that can be written off as two guys getting excited, but key writers are noticing too. Florida received votes in the latest AP Poll.

Brian Brian Fonesca of the NJ.com/Star-Ledger and Ian Kress of WLNS-TV (a CBS affiliate in Lansing, Michigan) ranked them No. 25. David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press ranked them No. 24. It’s only four points, but they’re the only five-loss team to receive votes.

Unofficially, they’re ranked No. 33 in the country. If they had beaten Tennessee or Georgia to have that slightly better 7-4 record, could very well be in the top 25 right now. It’s hard to vote for a 6-5 team, that’s totally fair, but the willingness to do so by a handful of writers is a good starting point. If they win out, including a quality bowl win, to finish 8-5, finishing ranked is realistic.

Those who are signing on now are seeing what could be on the horizon in 2025. This is how they are playing now. This team might have won eight or nine games had this been yearlong. Wait until they play the portal some more this summer to bring in more talent, Napier gets that offensive coordinator and Lagway comes in with nearly a year of play under his belt.

The Florida Gators have put the country on notice. They gave Napier the time to rebuild after Dan Mullen’s collapse, and that time is beginning to pay off.

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