Your action is crucial. We ask everyone to call, email, and write to Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Department of the Interior, insisting that the US Fish and Wildlife Service immediately declare the Florida Black Bear a Threatened Species. Your voice can make a difference.
Use our petition as a resource for information. Please express that Florida Black Bears are already being killed (see previous petition update), and HB 87 is not effective until July 1, 2024.
There are over 22 million people in Florida and only an estimated 4,050 black bears across the entire State. In the 1970s, Florida's Black Bears were on the brink of extinction, with only an estimated 300-500 remaining. It has taken nearly 50 years for Florida's black bear population to rebound from 300-500 bears to approximately 4,050 today.
Phone: (202) -208-3100 #3
Email: Deb.haaland@doi.gov
Send a letter to:
Secretary Deb Haaland
Dept of the Interior
1849 C St NW
6th Floor
Washington, DC 20240
The petition link, an article about the bear that was killed earlier this month, a screenshot of the bear cub that was shot in the gut, and the FWC's Reward poster for information on the bear cub that was killed can be found on our most recent Facebook posts. Keep in mind that HB 87 is not effective until July 1, 2024, and already people are killing bears.