The Annual Bear Hunt

So everyone that knows me, knows that I love bears. So I was really upset when I found out about Florida’s annual bear hunt. 

Every year, Florida has a legal bear hunt in a bid to try and lower their black bear populations. People who kill a bear can sell its carcass for lots of money.

In 2015, over 300 bears had been killed in the first two days alone.

So, you’re probably thinking: ‘What’s the big deal? I don’t even like bears’

Well, first of all, at the end of the day, bears are animals, just like every other creature. No one goes on Dog Hunts, or Squirrel Hunts, (Though, to think about that, it would be kinda weird)…

Still not convinced? Lets think of it this way:

Bears are in the food chain. Without them, links will be broken. Before we know it, the scavengers die out, (as they eat the rest of fresh kill, mostly relying on the bears). Without the scavengers, we don’t have foxes, wolves, rabbits, or hares (They all have a diet of mostly scavengers). So that’s already almost 50 individual species that rely on bears.

Lastly, It’s just sad.

Fox-hunts were to be made legal last year in Britain. But hundreds of thousands protested against it, and it was decided: Fox-Hunts would never be legal in Britain, and those who were found guilty of killing a fox could go to jail. So can’t this be the same for bears?

I asked some people in my class if they liked bears, and here are some of the responses:

“I like bears because they are fluffy and look cute, but then again, they actually seem to be violent creatures. I think that bear hunts should be illegal.”

“I like bears because they’re really cute, and are simply misunderstood. I think that bear hunting should be illegal.”

“I like bears because they are loyal animals. Bear hunting is wrong because no animals should be killed for our greed and selfishness.”

“I don’t like bears, but I don’t want them to go extinct. I don’t want any animal to go extinct. I don’t think bear hunting should be legal.”