New ‘Bear Bill’ will allow residents to kill threatening bears in self-defense

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – Governor Ron Desantis signed the controversial ‘bear bill’ into law one week ago.

The bill, which allows people to shoot bears if they feel threatened, was born in Franklin County when Sheriff A. J. Smith contacted State Representative Jason Shoaf and Senator Corey Simon about the nuisance bears.

“We were having a lot of problems with black bears going into people’s yards and their homes and their cars. Folks would call for and they were not getting good responses. Representative Shoaf came up with a bill because he was concerned about people being able to protect themselves if a bear were to try to attack them,” Smith said.

Some people are concerned the bill will enable unlawful bear hunting, but Smith said there are checks and balances in place to prevent that from happening.

“If a bear’s killed, it’s going to be investigated. If a bear’s killed in Franklin County, they’re going to call us. We’re going to send a deputy. We’re going to work with the fish and wildlife and our local state attorney. It’s going to be investigated thoroughly, and if they didn’t follow the law, then they could be charged with a crime,” Smith said.

Fish and Wildlife are also working to relocate the bears, reducing the number of dangerous encounters that occur.

“They’re relocating them up further in the forest. We have thousands of acres of national forest and state forest, so there’s plenty of places to put them,” Smith said.

Smith continues to emphasize shooting bears should be a last resort. He’s encouraging residents to take precautionary steps that can help keep nuisance bears away from their homes.

“Keep your garbage contained. If you see a bear or you feel there’s one that’s in your area, call us or call Fish and Wildlife and let them come out and take a look and see what can be done to relocate the bear or if the bear may be a problem,” Smith added.

People are only allowed to shoot bears if they feel they are in imminent danger. You are not allowed to lure a bear onto your property for the purpose of shooting it. If you kill a bear in self-defense, you must call FWC within 24 hours.

You are not allowed to keep, sell, or dispose of the bear’s carcass.

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