MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A 31-year-old man shot and killed a bear to protect his dog in Marion County, about a month after Florida made it legal for people to kill the animals while defending themselves or their property, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The shooting happened July 30 in Fort McCoy.
The new law took effect July 1, days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 87. Under the law, shooters have to notify the FWC within 24 hours of bears being killed. The law also prohibits anyone from possessing or selling bear carcasses.
According to Florida wildlife officials, the man — Jesse Tittle — let his dogs outside around 5 a.m. on July 30, and shortly thereafter, he heard his dogs, a 60-pound pit bull and a 25-pound pit bull-Papillon mix puppy, barking “aggressively” from a nearby yard.
The FWC said Tittle called his dogs, but the puppy did not return to him. The man grabbed his larger dog, but it pulled him toward the bear, and he ended up on the ground, officials said.
“I noticed that it was a bear. I called the dogs, and only the big dog came. Me and him kind of wrestled around here, and I was trying to hold him down. He wanted to go back because he wasn’t coming back,” Tittle told News 6.
Tittle said he saw the bear near his pup, so he attempted to fire a “warning shot” to scare the animals but struck the bear, according to the FWC, which said the animal tried to climb a tree but fell to the ground.
“You have to draw the line at some point and time. It could’ve been somebody’s kid out there. It could have been my niece, my nephew, anybody. A small kid. My grandma,” Tittle said.
Wildlife officials said Tittle returned the dogs to his house, and when he went back to check on the bear, it was dead, so he called FWC. Officials did not provide the size of the bear.
Tittle told FWC officers that he routinely carries a 9mm handgun in case he needs to protect his dogs from coyotes.
“I did the right thing. I didn’t do anything wrong, whether I face the consequences or not. My dad told me there was a stand-your-ground law against the bears. I was willing to go to jail over shooting the bear,” Tittle explained.
Florida wildlife officials said after a review of physical evidence and Tittle’s sworn written statement, it was determined that his actions were reasonable to protect the life of his dog.
Tittle said he sees bears in the yard constantly. Many have ravaged his car and trash cans, as well as 13 of his goats.
“The bears are sitting on the porch waiting for you to push the door open. They’re breaking in the cars and windows to grab lunch sitting in there from earlier that day. It’s not the bears’ fault, but it’s not the people’s fault, either,” said Tittle.
Tittle hopes the state finds a better solution so that animals and humans can coexist without bloodshed