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A State House bill that would allow people to kill bears on their property without permits when they feel threatened advanced in a House subcommittee Friday. But, opponents say that killing the bears isn’t the solution – trash management is.
The bill is sponsored by Republican Representative Jason Shoaf. It’s said to be a “stand your ground bill” against bears.
“It’s a plague in North Florida. We have thousands of bears, they have been protected for a number of years, they should be protected. They’re a great animal. But that protection ends the moment that bear crosses your threshold.”
Those against the bill say that trash management is the solution. Kate MacFall, Florida State Director at The Humane Society of the United States, spoke during public comment.
“The bears are in neighborhoods around humans because there’s a food source there, and they’re hungry. Nine times out of ten it’s trash.”
Democratic Representative Dianne Hart voted against the bill, and floated the idea of funding bear-proof trash cans for some residents.
“We’ve taken over their habitat. So what do we expect? They’re there because we’ve moved them out. So what we need to do is educate our communities on what it is they need to do, supply the trash cans, and secure our properties.”
The bill was approved by the Agriculture and Natural Resource Appropriations Subcommittee. It now moves into the House Infrastructure Strategies Committee.
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