# Black Bear attack {News Article} :(



## elevan (Sep 5, 2011)

How very sad    I've come to the conclusion that I would not want to live in FL and have livestock.



> Black bear kills pet goat
> 
> September 05, 2011 12:01:00 AM
> LOIS SWOBODA / Florida Freedom Newspapers
> ...


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## neener92 (Sep 5, 2011)

Maybe I should send some bear hunters!


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## ohiofarmgirl (Sep 5, 2011)

pssst..... elevan.... there are bears in central ohio. thats what i hear anyway.

no really! when our beehives tumbled down in a storm the first thing folks said was that it was bears. but seein' as how we have 3 huge dogs and we are fenced we didnt think that was what happened. and the guy who told me it was bears has been known to be a drinker. 

so then i went and asked down at the feedstore and THEY said, sure there's black bears and one had been sighted down on such-n-so road. 

so there you have it. but if we do have bears come 'round.... them bears wont be lasting very long and i'm pretty sure the chickens wont be calling the game warden on me.  and if they do, we have 15 acres and a shovel so i'll just shrug and say i dont know anything. 
;-)


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## redtailgal (Sep 5, 2011)

x


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## terrilhb (Sep 5, 2011)

I was telling my DH about this story after I read it. Florida needs to change the laws. He is from florida. Like he said it sure is alot harder to SSS when it is a bear. Those poor people.


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## elevan (Sep 5, 2011)

Oh, I know they are in Central Ohio.  A sheriff's deputy shot one a couple of roads away from me last year that was menacing a farm.  

BUT it seems that in FL that if something is attacking your livestock you're just kind of screwed by the laws as you're not allowed to shoot anything    And yeah, it would be pretty hard to SSS a black bear unless you own some heavy machinery...


RTG...  sorry for the heart attack


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## ohiofarmgirl (Sep 5, 2011)

> A sheriff's deputy shot one a couple of roads away from me last year that was menacing a farm.


BAH!  ok truth? one of the reasons i wanted to move to ohio was b/c i didnt think we had any bears! aaaaaaaaaaaaaauauuhghghghghhghhhh! boy was i surprised. zoikes!

ok i have TWO shovels! and based on my irrational fear of bears, i think i'd be highly motivated to dig a big hole. hee hee hee

or wonder if the florida farmers could just feed it to the gators? 

wait - bears? gators? ok there's no way i'm moving there...

;-)


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## elevan (Sep 5, 2011)

ohiofarmgirl said:
			
		

> wait - bears? gators? ok there's no way i'm moving there...
> 
> ;-)


Don't forget the panthers


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## Roll farms (Sep 5, 2011)

elevan said:
			
		

> ohiofarmgirl said:
> 
> 
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And the snowbirds....

(I used to live in FL....never again...no offense to those who do, but it's not my kinda place...)


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## ohiofarmgirl (Sep 5, 2011)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> elevan said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


PANTHERS!?!!?

older folks in RV's drivin' reeeeeeaaal slow???

*passes out from fear and determines that hawks, coyotes, and foxes are fair enough game and will never move to florida*

ok fine..if you wanna know how i REALLY handle all the predators you can read here ...but we warned.. its not for the feint of heart and is best read after a couple beers.

happy labor day!
;-)


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## elevan (Sep 5, 2011)

OFG...you scare me


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## ohiofarmgirl (Sep 5, 2011)

hee hee hee .. well i scare myself sometimes! ha!

dunno if i have the stones to go runnin' after some bear...but i guess anything could happen!

;-)


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## Livinwright Farm (Sep 5, 2011)

Seriously?!? If they were in NH, those bear would have been dead after the first time they were seen on the property! Black bear are a nussaince!

In fairness to the bear though, if the people had a stronger enclosure & high voltage predator fencing(knowing they had bear in the area) & didn't leave open containers of feed out, then the bear probably would'nt have seen a need to come onto their property in the first place.

I *LOVE* the fact that the people who own the house next to us come up every fall to go black bear hunting!!


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## elevan (Sep 5, 2011)

Livinwright Farm said:
			
		

> Seriously?!? If they were in NH, those bear would have been dead after the first time they were seen on the property! Black bear are a nussaince!
> 
> In fairness to the bear though, if the people had a stronger enclosure & high voltage predator fencing(knowing they had bear in the area) & didn't leave open containers of feed out, then the bear probably would'nt have seen a need to come onto their property in the first place.
> 
> I *LOVE* the fact that the people who own the house next to us come up every fall to go black bear hunting!!


Great point. As noted in the panther article that I posted which was in FL too...a 10' fence with electric topline is needed to keep the predators out.  FL is VERY strict in protecting those predators though so if you fail to take preventative measures it seems that you're out of luck when the predator decides to act naturally and eat your goats...you just have to watch and cry.


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## Roll farms (Sep 5, 2011)

I'm probably the onliest one on earth still rootin' for the bears...and panthers...wolves...etc*.

Don't get me wrong, I don't WANT anything eating my animals (hence the fencing, guard dogs, etc) but...I just don't see that *we* have more of a right to life / food / this planet than *they* do.

I'm not trying to start a fuss and will (for once ) quietly back out of the thread...but it saddens me when animals die for only doing what comes natural.

*My one, hypocrytical exception - opossums.  Pretty sure Mother Nature made a big whoopsie on those nasty things, and they should die.


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## jodief100 (Sep 5, 2011)

I hate seeing an animal die for doing what comes natural as well.   But I have to disagree with you on this one Rolls.  We have thrown the ecosystem balance way off and most places now do not have the proper predator/prey/territory balance.  Sometimes we humans have to step in and balance the scales back somewhat and hunting does a great job of this. 

I don't mess with anything that isn't messing with me.  Then I break out the big guns.  

Bears are scary.  The last documented case of a grizzly bear attack in Arizona was my great grandfather.  He was mauled badly and the family believes it contributed to his death.  

I wouldn't move to Florida for anything.... heat and humidity SUCK!


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## elevan (Sep 5, 2011)

Opossums actually serve an important role in the ecosystem too 

I don't think that predators should be eradicated quite the opposite.

I've been posting these articles as an eye opener for others.

When you fence in a prey animal without thinking about your apex predators you're going to have issues.  Most people think they can just pull out their gun...but that may land YOU in jail or heavily fined.  And while I myself stated that I probably wouldn't be thinking about that if my livestock were in danger I know that isn't true...I would have it in the back of my mind and would probably just try to scare the animal off.

Point is - know your predators...don't assume they aren't there just because you've never seen one.  Know how to protect your animals and what rights you have against any given predator in your state, county, region.

And if you're in FL or any other state and you have animals and don't employ safeguards to prevent apex predators from getting your animals then don't say you weren't warned.


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## Roll farms (Sep 5, 2011)

I know some of 'em gotta go (and....didn't I say I would go...out of this thread...?  ) because of the imbalance we created.  
I guess I wish we could fix what we screwed up so royally in the first place, but that ain't gonna happen.  It's a sad situation.

And I hate the bloodthirsty, "ALL predators must DIE" attitude some farmers / ranchers have.  
I've spent too much time volunteering w/ Wolf programs to wrap my mind around that sort of hate.  I don't have a problem w/ killing off problem animals so that the non-problematic ones have a chance.   I don't have a problem killing for food.  

I just can't accept killing for sport alone or 'because it's a (insert predator name here)'.

I agree, putting animals in an easily-entered pen in predator country is asking for trouble.  We had chickens here for 2 solid years before the local wildlife found out, and then it was a smorgasboard.  I couldn't blame them for taking the easy route (don't 'we' as a society go to the grocery b/c it's easier?) and putting up better fences / getting dogs was my solution.  If I hadn't, I'd have nobody but *me* to blame if the predation continued.

And, finally...I know my loathing of possums makes me a hypocrite, but least I admit it.  I once had an OFG moment in gum boots and purple silk pajamas, wielding a pitchfork at 2am on a possum that was eating eggs that had been incubating 20 days.  I heard those peeps and mama hen screaming and saw red.


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## elevan (Sep 5, 2011)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> And, finally...I know my loathing of possums makes me a hypocrite, but least I admit it.  I once had an OFG moment in gum boots and purple silk pajamas, wielding a pitchfork at 2am on a possum that was eating eggs that had been incubating 20 days.  I heard those peeps and mama hen screaming and saw red.


   I would have done the same...poor chickies.


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## redtailgal (Sep 5, 2011)

zz


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## Pumpkinpup (Sep 6, 2011)

This is just all so very sad.  My heart goes out to the owners of the goats but I think if I knew I had that type of preditor on my property from time to time I do think I would have taken extra measures to insure the safety of my pets. Bears are not something to play around with where smaller livestock are concearned.
When we lived in far north Georgia, I feared for our horses durring foaling season every year. It is not a good feeling knowing that bear attack is a possibility. I am glad we do not have that problem where we live now!


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