Bear Hunt in Florida to Reduce Numbers by Brenna Hale(6th Period)

       The Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission has permitted nearly 4,000 licensed hunters to kill 320 bears. Making a small dent in the population of 3,500. They said their main priority is to reduce the growing numbers of the black bear population. Activists have said that the solution is not killing but more focus on waste management and reducing the smell of food in garbage. Charlie Griffin was attacked by a bear that emerged from a garbage dumpster, and received non-fatal injuries. Activists also argue that this hunt did not have public support and it does not do much to reduce bear numbers in neighborhoods.

       The problem with bear attacks are the mounds of garbage that attract them. They are hungry, just like people, and smelling any scent of food is all they need. Those who are against the hunt suggest the government focus on waste management, so that there would not be any scent to attract the bears. This is a more humane approach to the rising bear population, and should have been approached before bears were killed. This event reminds me of the complications and in humaneness of slavery. The bears are not being enslaved, but they never harmed anyone much like the Africans and Native Americans. But they are being killed by those who think they control them, those who favor their lives over others because they are a superior species.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34630592