House passes bill allowing people to kill bears on private property if threatened

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida House passed a bill 88-29 that would allow people to use lethal force to kill a bear without a permit or authorization if they feel threatened on private property.

The threat of death or serious bodily injury can be to a human, a pet, or to a dwelling.

HB 87 is sponsored by Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe. In the Senate, Sen. Corey Simon, R-Quincy, is carrying a similar bill, SB 632.

“Here in north Florida, we have a major problem with bears. […] We love them, they’re cute and cuddly, but they’ve become so accustomed to humans they are starting to lose their fear…” Shoaf said.

Shoaf said under current law, if you see a bear “trying to claw its way through your door to get into your home” while people are inside, and you shoot it, “you will go to jail.”

“It’s time for us to do something about it,” he said.

A person will not face a penalty if they did not “intentionally or recklessly place himself or herself or the pet in a situation in which he or she would be likely to need to use lethal force,” according to the bill’s analysis.

Additionally, a person won’t be penalized if they notify the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission “within 24 hours after using lethal force to take the bear.”

The bill said that a person “may not possess, sell, or dispose of the taken bear or its parts.”

“It’s not intended for hunting, it’s not intended for trophy purposes,” Shoaf said.

Bears must be “disposed of” by the commission, according to the bill text.

Rep. Katherine Waldron, D-Greenacres, opposed the bill in debate and called it “shameful.”

“Deliberate murder should not be condoned, and yet this bill does just that,” Waldron said.

Waldron said the bill is based on “falsely manufactured non-scientific reasoning.”

If also passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, it would take effect July 1.