Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill allowing residents to shoot and kill threatening black bears on their property and vetoed a left-lane driving ban.
DeSantis signed the so-called "stand your ground" bill against black bears, HB 87, in the face of stiff opposition from environmental groups. He signed the bill without comment and did not discuss it publicly.
The bill allows Floridians to shoot and kill a bear in self-defense. Anyone who does so must report it to Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission within 24 hours and they cannot keep or sell the carcass; FWC disposes of the carcass. Residents cannot, however, lure the bear onto their property to justify killing it.
FWC said that 6,000 out of 14,000 animal nuisance calls in 2022 were bear-related. Rural sheriffs were also proponents of the bill, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Black bears were removed from the state threatened species list in 2012.
Opponents say the vagueness of the bill will undoubtedly lead to more — and indiscriminate — bear killings.
“Yeah, bear on my property — boom,” opponent Chuck O’Neal told Politico. “Bear in my trash can — boom. Bear walks across my property — boom. I’m out in the woods — boom. He went after my dogs — boom. There are just so many possibilities.”
One group, Bear Warriors, has already vowed a lawsuit to overturn the law, which goes into effect July 1.
The bear bill was among the 14 that DeSantis signed and three that he vetoed Friday from this year’s legislative session.
The left-lane bill, however, was found to be problematic. HB 317 was deemed too vague and he vetoed the bill that would have banned left-lane “campers” on Florida highways. The bill, designed to improve highway safety by keeping the left lane open for passing drivers, passed nearly unanimously in the Florida House and Senate.
“The language of this bill is too broad and could lead to drivers in Florida being pulled over, ticketed, and fined for driving in the furthest left lane if they are not impeding the flow of traffic or if there are few other cars in the immediate area,” DeSantis wrote in his veto letter.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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