Humane Group Donates Non lethal kits to cops in FL

[mike rossi]

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Black-Bear-Hazing-Kits-Donated-to-FWC-291471651.html

 

[Doc]

I would have thought that the Florida Fish & Wildlife Service would already have what they need for handling such problem bears, up to and including live traps for re-locating problem bears. I suspect that this is just a publicity stunt trying to make it appear that the organization does really do something that is useful.

[mike rossi]

I would have thought that the Florida Fish & Wildlife Service would already have what they need for handling such problem bears, up to and including live traps for re-locating problem bears. I suspect that this is just a publicity stunt trying to make it appear that the organization does really do something that is useful.

 

Florida is currently considering opening a limited black bear season because of an increase in bear problems. I think that explains it... 

[Doc]

Yup!

[fasteddie]

I wonder is someone smacked a black bear with a couple of those Bean Bag rounds if the bear would attack the shooter ! It might be similar to trying to repel a thief with a Nerf Gun ...........

[jjb4900]

bad idea, we should just kill every wild animal that ventures into a town inhabited by people....

[Doc]

I was watching one of those game warden shows yesterday where they live-trapped a problem bear and then released it in a different area. They knew the real problem was the familiarity that the neighborhood bear had with humans and the fact that they were losing their natural cautiousness.

 

So the trick was when the door to the cage was opened, they had a few department employees around, hollering, and a bunch of leashed dogs barking, and a guy with bean-bag rounds in a gun. The bear was ready to get the hell out of there before they even opened the door. As the bear bolted, he got a few swats from the bean bags, and after he got out a ways, the dogs were let loose and they pushed him right up the hill and started him off exactly where they wanted him to go. Apparently the dogs are well trained to come back when they are called.

 

The whole experience was to make his association with humans, and suburbia and dogs as unpleasant as possible and something that he would always remember.

 

However, they did mention that it doesn't always work perfectly and on a couple of occasions, they did have some bears that did a U-turn and came back after the workers. In those cases, the dogs put him back on course.