A break from politics for a moment--
If you’re looking to cash in on Florida’s python bounty program, there are a few things you should know. First and foremost, female pythons can lay up to 100 eggs at a time, so the state is offering a pretty hefty reward for anyone who can help control the population.
Registered hunters can earn minimum wage for up to 10 hours of work per day, plus bonuses for each python they catch. For example, you’ll receive $50 for each python measuring up to four feet, and an additional $25 for each foot above four feet.
Showing posts with label Hunting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hunting. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2022
Monday, November 20, 2017
President Trump to make an announcement on Elephant Hunting
President Donald Trump on Twitter Sunday called elephant hunting a "horror show" and suggested he would permanently block the import of elephant trophies from two African nations.
His post comes days after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it would be issuing permits for elephant trophies following an announcement by the Trump administration last week that it was preparing to reverse the Obama-era ban. [Newsmax]
His post comes days after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it would be issuing permits for elephant trophies following an announcement by the Trump administration last week that it was preparing to reverse the Obama-era ban. [Newsmax]
Monday, February 6, 2017
Can Dog Hunting ever be ethical?
This week, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is having their meeting that will be held over two days in Crystal River on February 8-9. This meeting is on rules changes. One important change will be the use of dogs in the hunt for small animals on Florida owned land. Right now, anyone who wishes to hunt on private land with a dog must gain permission from the landowner. On private land, hunters may use free running dogs throughout the year to chase rabbit, raccoon, opossum, skunk, nutria, beaver, coyote, hog, fox and bobcat.
While Florida still allows dog-hunting throughout much of the state, even the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) has had to bend to the will of dog-hunting opponents in recent years. The culture is changing as to what people feel is ethical and that's why the public will be at this meeting to speak against dog hunting.
Drew Martin will be attending the Thursday meeting to speak against the use of dogs because he believes that the expanded use of hunting dogs is detrimental to human and wildlife safety.
Dog hunting is not sport; it is murder. The animal has no chance to survive a pack of dogs to then be terrorized and killed by a hunter who loves the thrill of blood.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Monday, October 26, 2015
Florida Black Bear Hunt ends
Comment Up
Thank God--it's over after two days!
The
Florida black bear hunt has been called off after two days.Ralf Brookes
Attorney said "with only 3200 Fla Black Bear unique to the world the
numbers taken this year cannot be repeated next year and are not
sustainable. This hunt must not happen again next year and the year
thereafter or we will have few or no Florida Black Bears. This spepies
was listed as threatened only 3 years ago. Science not politics, and
precaution not annihilation, will save the Florida Black Bear.
Science has shown hunts are ineffective in controlling bear conflicts
and that managing garbage cans is the best most effective way to control
human bear conflicts. Indigenous peoples have lived with bears and we
must also learn to give the same respect to the species. A wholesale
slaughter cannot be condoned. Florida black bear habitat must be
connected through statewide wildlife Corridors to ensure genetic
diversity and a healthy population of bears and other wildlife for
future generations. we cannot continue to cause fragmentation of
wildlife habitat and expect our species to survive."
Friday, October 23, 2015
Sick, thirsty hunters waiting to kill
Comment Up
What Florida has done for revenue--Sickening. I think all hunters are sick.
Reports say that more than 3,200 people have purchased permits to KILL bears--numbers released by FWC. Less than 50 of those permits are from out-of-state hunters.
Since august and based on the cost of the permits, Florida Fish and Wildlife has brought in more than $320,000.
The FWC web site says: In June 2015, the FWC approved a limited bear hunt to take place beginning Oct. 24, 2015 in four of the seven BMUs. The purpose of reinstating a bear hunting season is to stabilize expanding bear populations in different parts of the state that are capable of supporting hunting.
What Florida has done for revenue--Sickening. I think all hunters are sick.
Reports say that more than 3,200 people have purchased permits to KILL bears--numbers released by FWC. Less than 50 of those permits are from out-of-state hunters.
Since august and based on the cost of the permits, Florida Fish and Wildlife has brought in more than $320,000.
The FWC web site says: In June 2015, the FWC approved a limited bear hunt to take place beginning Oct. 24, 2015 in four of the seven BMUs. The purpose of reinstating a bear hunting season is to stabilize expanding bear populations in different parts of the state that are capable of supporting hunting.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Florida's Black Bear
Comment Up
Florida will now have blood on its hands. It's atrocious what it has done when it comes to permits to hunt the Black Bear. The Florida Black Bear is now open season for trophy hunters, killers, even those coming from out-of-state. Florida residents pay $100 and non-residents pay $300 for the joy of killing one bear. We will get the Cecil killers of the world, you know the ones with blood dripping from their lips who have no humanity.
The bears were protected for decades but now Florida says that 320 of them can be killed, one each for a permit holder. Why do people get a thrill out of killing an animal? There is something very wrong with that when you have no value for a living, breathing animal and you can just easily point an assault weapon and end its life.
The irony of this is that the proceeds from these bear permits will go towards bear conservation.
The State's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has no clue on how big the Florida bear population is. They probably now know how many hunters may want to end one's life.
Florida will now have blood on its hands. It's atrocious what it has done when it comes to permits to hunt the Black Bear. The Florida Black Bear is now open season for trophy hunters, killers, even those coming from out-of-state. Florida residents pay $100 and non-residents pay $300 for the joy of killing one bear. We will get the Cecil killers of the world, you know the ones with blood dripping from their lips who have no humanity.
The bears were protected for decades but now Florida says that 320 of them can be killed, one each for a permit holder. Why do people get a thrill out of killing an animal? There is something very wrong with that when you have no value for a living, breathing animal and you can just easily point an assault weapon and end its life.
The irony of this is that the proceeds from these bear permits will go towards bear conservation.
The State's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has no clue on how big the Florida bear population is. They probably now know how many hunters may want to end one's life.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Save the Black Bear
LWVF Natural
Resources Committee
League of Women Voters of Florida – Bear/Human Conflict - Public Comment - 6/24/2015
The League of Women Voters of Florida provided comment at the February meeting of the FWC concerning the depletion of a natural food source for black bears as a probable cause for increased bear/human conflicts.
Scientific studies by Howe and Obbard show that the number of bear/human conflicts is inversely proportional to the availability of natural food. If bears have a source of natural food, they tend not to risk confrontation with humans.
The natural diet of a black bear requires about a half ton of saw palmetto berries over the three month period prior to hibernation. In February, we expressed concern over migrant workers being paid to illegally harvest saw palmetto berries on state and federal lands.
Since that time we have learned that our assertion was false. The migrant workers were not illegally harvesting the berries, they were LEGALLY harvesting berries from public lands under Special Use Permits issued by the Florida Forest Service. The forest service has been selling permits to harvest the berries on public lands, indeed over one million acres of publicly owned lands, under a program to make state forests financially self-sustaining.
This poorly conceived directive to make state forests and state parks financially self-sustaining is in direct contradiction to generations of good stewardship by forward thinking public servants of both political parties. The depletion of the black bears natural food source may well have been the underlying cause for most if not all of the recent bear/human conflicts. And yet the FWC remains silent on this point in its press releases and public statements.
According to the FWC's own manual "Black Bear Habitat Management Guidelines for Florida," "Saw palmetto is likely the most important biotic component of the black bear habitat." "There is likely no other native mammal in Florida that depends on saw palmetto to the extent that the black bear does."
The prudent course of action would be to increase the availability of the black bear's natural food supply. Another report published by the FWC "Ecology and Management of Saw Palmetto" states: "Commercial harvest of palmetto berries from conservation lands should be prohibited until such time as regional berry crop monitoring programs have been developed and implemented."
Instead the FWC chooses to ignore its own scientific studies in favor of a bear hunt. Will a one week hunting season actually reduce the number of bear/human conflicts? Scientific research by Obbard et al. (2014) concluded "We found no significant correlations between harvest and subsequent HBC (human/bear conflicts). Although it may be intuitive to assume that harvesting more bears should reduce (human/bear conflicts), empirical support for this assumption is lacking despite considerable research."
Two hundred thirty nine years ago, at our nation’s founding, Jefferson penned these words: “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Consent of the governed, an interesting concept.
In 1998, when 72% of the governed voted for Amendment 5 to create this very commission “for the purposes of management, protection, and conservation of wild animal life;” In 2014 when 75% of the governed voted for Amendment 1 to allocate funding “for conservation lands including wetlands, forests, and fish and wildlife habitat;” In 2015 when 75% of the public comments to the FWC stated that they wanted non-lethal measures to solve bear/human conflicts – we can only ask “What part of ‘consent of the governed’ don’t you understand?”
Chuck O’Neal, First Vice President
LWV of Florida
Lwvocnr@aol.com
League of Women Voters of Florida – Bear/Human Conflict - Public Comment - 6/24/2015
The League of Women Voters of Florida provided comment at the February meeting of the FWC concerning the depletion of a natural food source for black bears as a probable cause for increased bear/human conflicts.
Scientific studies by Howe and Obbard show that the number of bear/human conflicts is inversely proportional to the availability of natural food. If bears have a source of natural food, they tend not to risk confrontation with humans.
The natural diet of a black bear requires about a half ton of saw palmetto berries over the three month period prior to hibernation. In February, we expressed concern over migrant workers being paid to illegally harvest saw palmetto berries on state and federal lands.
Since that time we have learned that our assertion was false. The migrant workers were not illegally harvesting the berries, they were LEGALLY harvesting berries from public lands under Special Use Permits issued by the Florida Forest Service. The forest service has been selling permits to harvest the berries on public lands, indeed over one million acres of publicly owned lands, under a program to make state forests financially self-sustaining.
This poorly conceived directive to make state forests and state parks financially self-sustaining is in direct contradiction to generations of good stewardship by forward thinking public servants of both political parties. The depletion of the black bears natural food source may well have been the underlying cause for most if not all of the recent bear/human conflicts. And yet the FWC remains silent on this point in its press releases and public statements.
According to the FWC's own manual "Black Bear Habitat Management Guidelines for Florida," "Saw palmetto is likely the most important biotic component of the black bear habitat." "There is likely no other native mammal in Florida that depends on saw palmetto to the extent that the black bear does."
The prudent course of action would be to increase the availability of the black bear's natural food supply. Another report published by the FWC "Ecology and Management of Saw Palmetto" states: "Commercial harvest of palmetto berries from conservation lands should be prohibited until such time as regional berry crop monitoring programs have been developed and implemented."
Instead the FWC chooses to ignore its own scientific studies in favor of a bear hunt. Will a one week hunting season actually reduce the number of bear/human conflicts? Scientific research by Obbard et al. (2014) concluded "We found no significant correlations between harvest and subsequent HBC (human/bear conflicts). Although it may be intuitive to assume that harvesting more bears should reduce (human/bear conflicts), empirical support for this assumption is lacking despite considerable research."
Two hundred thirty nine years ago, at our nation’s founding, Jefferson penned these words: “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Consent of the governed, an interesting concept.
In 1998, when 72% of the governed voted for Amendment 5 to create this very commission “for the purposes of management, protection, and conservation of wild animal life;” In 2014 when 75% of the governed voted for Amendment 1 to allocate funding “for conservation lands including wetlands, forests, and fish and wildlife habitat;” In 2015 when 75% of the public comments to the FWC stated that they wanted non-lethal measures to solve bear/human conflicts – we can only ask “What part of ‘consent of the governed’ don’t you understand?”
Chuck O’Neal, First Vice President
LWV of Florida
Lwvocnr@aol.com
Friday, February 13, 2015
"Echo" is dead, shot to death by a hunter
I honestly hate hunting with a passion. I have never understood how anyone can kill a living thing or kill for the thrill. Below is the very sad tale of Echo sent to me by the Defenders of Wildlife--
Dear Lynn, It is with a heavy heart that I write to share the news – the Grand Canyon wolf is dead.
DNA analysis confirms that the female wolf shot and killed on December 28th in Utah was the same wolf that some in the Southwest had nicknamed “Echo.” Not long ago, she captured the world’s imagination by showing up on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon – hundreds of miles from her birthplace in the Northern Rockies. She was the first wild wolf to see the Grand Canyon in 70 years.
Her death is a cautionary tale a glimpse into the dark future facing so many of America’s wolves if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service goes through with its proposed national delisting.
I know you love wolves as much as I do. So won’t you please make a generous donation today to Defenders of Wildlife – for the wolves and other vulnerable wildlife?
We’re fighting a multi-front war for America’s wolves - in Washington, D.C., in the field, and in rogue states like Idaho. No one fights for the wolves you love harder than Defenders. But we can’t do it alone.
That wolf traveled hundreds of miles from her Northern Rockies home in search of new habitat and a mate. That’s what healthy wolves do. She reminded us all of the resilience of these magnificent animals. But her tragic death also reminds us that wolves need continued protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Please donate today to help us continue our all-out fight for America’s wolves!
Thank you for your passion and your commitment.
Dear Lynn, It is with a heavy heart that I write to share the news – the Grand Canyon wolf is dead.
DNA analysis confirms that the female wolf shot and killed on December 28th in Utah was the same wolf that some in the Southwest had nicknamed “Echo.” Not long ago, she captured the world’s imagination by showing up on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon – hundreds of miles from her birthplace in the Northern Rockies. She was the first wild wolf to see the Grand Canyon in 70 years.
Her death is a cautionary tale a glimpse into the dark future facing so many of America’s wolves if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service goes through with its proposed national delisting.
I know you love wolves as much as I do. So won’t you please make a generous donation today to Defenders of Wildlife – for the wolves and other vulnerable wildlife?
We’re fighting a multi-front war for America’s wolves - in Washington, D.C., in the field, and in rogue states like Idaho. No one fights for the wolves you love harder than Defenders. But we can’t do it alone.
That wolf traveled hundreds of miles from her Northern Rockies home in search of new habitat and a mate. That’s what healthy wolves do. She reminded us all of the resilience of these magnificent animals. But her tragic death also reminds us that wolves need continued protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Please donate today to help us continue our all-out fight for America’s wolves!
Thank you for your passion and your commitment.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Send a Valentine's Day message to save the Big Cypress National Preserve.
Soft-shell turtle - Big Cypress
For the third time in less than a year, the National Park Service (NPS) is soliciting comments on their proposed Hunting Management Plan for the Big Cypress National Preserve.
While a number of relatively minor changes have been made to the plan each time, all versions have in common the introduction of public hunting into the incomparable 146,000 acre Addition Lands of the Big Cypress National Preserve - for the first time in history.
South Florida Wildlands Association (SFWA) is deeply opposed to this proposal.
Please send your message to the National Park Service and ask for NO INTRODUCTION OF PUBLIC HUNTING into the Big Cypress National Preserve Addition Lands. Comments can be made online at the following website until Thursday, February 14th (11:59 PM Mountain Time - so actually 1:59 AM on Friday EST). As this happens to be Valentine's Day, it's a great opportunity to send a Valentine's message to South Florida's wildlife - as well as to the stewards of this very important piece of public land.
Submit comments
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Alligator Hunting in the Loxahatcheee National Wildlife Refuge?
Comment Up
From now until
Wednesday, October, 31st, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking comments
on a proposal to open the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife
Refuge to alligator hunting for the first time in its 61 year history.
Comments can be submitted by email to Rolf Olson, Deputy Project Leader at:
rolf_olson@fws.gov
There is an underscore _ between rolf and olson
Snail-mail postmarked by October 31st, can be sent to:
Rolf Olson, Deputy Project Leader
ARM Loxahatchee NWR
10216 Lee Road
Boynton Beach, FL 33473
Established in 1951, “the Lox” is a completely unique National Wildlife Refuge which receives visitors from every state and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the benefit of all. It is a part of your natural heritage wherever you happen to live.
See our article below for more information on this important topic. If you’re sending in comments of your own - and we suggest you do - feel free to borrow as you see fit. The entire hunt proposal from the Fish and Wildlife Service can be accessed at the website below (scroll down about halfway):
http://m1e.net/c?98115388-H6IEwgWBIlGig%408002925-ALq7qUeoKgLFk
Also - protecting wildlife, habitat, and quiet access to public lands in south Florida is not easy. It requires time and money. If you are able, please consider a donation to South Florida Wildlands Association. We are certified by the IRS as a 501c3 non-profit and donations to our organization are completely tax-deductible. See link below to find out how you can help:
http://m1e.net/c?98115388-lWMSpTDSoBah6%408002926-YUiyjb/q2FmDE
Best regards,
Matthew Schwartz
Executive Director
South Florida Wildlands Association
P.O. Box 30211
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33303
954-634-7173
Also - follow us on Facebook at:
http://m1e.net/c?98115388-I/pD4d4ABePis%408002927-glA0k6YwlEhYw
Sick S.O.B.'S
rolf_olson@fws.gov
There is an underscore _ between rolf and olson
Snail-mail postmarked by October 31st, can be sent to:
Rolf Olson, Deputy Project Leader
ARM Loxahatchee NWR
10216 Lee Road
Boynton Beach, FL 33473
Established in 1951, “the Lox” is a completely unique National Wildlife Refuge which receives visitors from every state and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the benefit of all. It is a part of your natural heritage wherever you happen to live.
See our article below for more information on this important topic. If you’re sending in comments of your own - and we suggest you do - feel free to borrow as you see fit. The entire hunt proposal from the Fish and Wildlife Service can be accessed at the website below (scroll down about halfway):
http://m1e.net/c?98115388-H6IEwgWBIlGig%408002925-ALq7qUeoKgLFk
Also - protecting wildlife, habitat, and quiet access to public lands in south Florida is not easy. It requires time and money. If you are able, please consider a donation to South Florida Wildlands Association. We are certified by the IRS as a 501c3 non-profit and donations to our organization are completely tax-deductible. See link below to find out how you can help:
http://m1e.net/c?98115388-lWMSpTDSoBah6%408002926-YUiyjb/q2FmDE
Best regards,
Matthew Schwartz
Executive Director
South Florida Wildlands Association
P.O. Box 30211
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33303
954-634-7173
Also - follow us on Facebook at:
http://m1e.net/c?98115388-I/pD4d4ABePis%408002927-glA0k6YwlEhYw
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