(Mirror Daily, United States) – A bear hunt will not be encouraged after all this year. There have always been two sides, one aiming to protect bears and the other thinking that killing them is the only solution.

Nevertheless, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission won with four votes to three against the project of a bear hunt in October 2016.

One of the key facts behind their decision is that the last bear hunt in 2015 led to the death of 304 bears in just two days. Therefore, most people came to the conclusion that it was not a hunt but a massacre.

Bears have been protected since 1994 after they had been brought on the verge of extinction. Nowadays, some people began thinking that the growing population of bears has become a primary reason for concern. However, when animal rights activists and other organizations heard that the FWC took into consideration holding another hunt, a huge debate occurred between these activists and hunters.

Even if a bear hunt would be part of a bear management program, many people consider this idea dangerous as it might lead to a critical number of bears killed. Most importantly, this hunt might not be a reason for bear management after all, but a source of ‘fun’ for hunters.

One of the FWC commissioners, Richard Corbett, stated that these bears are too dangerous for the human population living around the forests. However, Laura Bevan, region director of the Humane Society of the United States’ southern region, underlined that such a hunt would aim for the bears in the woods, not for the bears that pose a problem. In other words, it would be a hunt held for the wrong reasons.

It is also worth mentioning that officials have already taken care of any possible situation of human-bear contact, and they are prepared for the worst case scenarios. Plus, a better solution would be for people to start using bear-proof trash cans that will discourage the animals from getting used to feeding on what they find in the garbage.

Experts and officials believe that instead of a bear hunt, people should be educated to change their perspective and to find a better approach to deal with the risk of encountering bears. Therefore, they should keep the food inside, use bear-proof trash cans, and immediately call the officials if they spot a bear near their houses.

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