Florida approves hunt to kill 320 black bears
Officials in Florida approved the first legal bear hunt in the state for 40 years
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Your support makes all the difference.Florida is holding a statewide hunt in which it plans to kill hundreds of black bears despite widespread protests from animal rights campaigners.
The state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has approved a plan to allow licensed hunters to shoot a certain number of black bears in a bid to reduce population size.
So far 207 bears have been killed with 99 killed in the centre of the state on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the commission told the Orlando Sentinel.
Hunting will resume in the northern and southern parts of the state on Sunday as hunters cull the remaining 113 bears to meet the quota.
3,778 bear-hunting permits have been issued statewide giving hunters the right to shoot one bear each.
One hunter, 16-year-old high school student Paul Fitzgerald, said he fulfilled a lifelong dream when he killed a 175-pound bear in Lake County in the centre of the state.
But animal rights groups said the hunt was unnecessary and wildlife authorities should instead focus their efforts on managing waste and outdoor food sources.
Kate MacFall from the Humane Society of the United States told the BBC: "Research overwhelmingly shows that hunting bears in the woods doesn't reduce problems with bears in neighbourhoods.
"The state would be better off helping citizens manage trash and outdoor food sources."
Officials say the black bear population had grown to 3,500 since bear hunting was stopped in 1972 and now presents a safety concern.
Last Friday, a bear attacked a man near the town of Eastpoint leaving him with non-life threatening injuries.
Charlie Griffin told local TV news station WCTV: "I didn't know whether I was going to live or not, I’ll tell you the truth, but I came through it.
"You never know what a bear's going to do."
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