TALLAHASSEE --- Animal rights groups are encouraging supporters to apply for bear hunting permits to limit the number of bears killed in December.
Starting Friday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will begin accepting applications for 187 permits that will be issued for a December hunting period. The permits will be awarded through a lottery-style process and would entitle people to each kill one bear.
Bear hunting has long been controversial in the state, and this year will be the first time since 2015 that a hunt has been held. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation says the hunt will be a way to manage the state’s bear population, which is estimated at more than 4,050 animals.
But opponents contend bears should be recognized as an endangered species and argue the commission did not follow its rules in moving forward with the hunt. So animal-rights groups are calling on their supporters to try to get permits.
“People are asking, ‘What can we do? What can we do?’ And that is something people can do,” said Kate MacFall, Florida state director of Humane World for Animals.
“Right now, getting a permit and taking a chance on getting a tag and saving a bear is what the public has really jumped on,” MacFall added. “Hopefully it will be successful.”
People age 18 or older as of Oct. 1 can apply for permits, with each entry costing $5. Applications will be accepted online --- at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com --- through Sept. 22.
Applicants can submit an unlimited number of entries but only receive one permit. Permits will cost $100 for Florida residents and $300 for out-of-state residents.
State officials haven’t estimated how many applications they expect. But if the 187-bear quota isn’t reached in December, that could lead to a boost in permits for future hunts.
George Warthen, the commission’s chief conservation officer, said the agency will ask permit holders after the hunt, similar to what it does after an alligator hunt, about why they didn’t take part in the hunt or get bears.
“The goal is, when we set a quota for any species, is to reach that goal,” Warthen said. “So, if we’re not reaching that goal, we make adjustments, usually in tag allocations to reach that goal.”
The 187-bear quota is based on a formula that, in part, is intended to limit the number of female bears killed.
MacFall said increasing future quotas is a concern for future years, when the use of dogs by hunters will be allowed.
“Who knows what will happen a year from now,” said MacFall, whose group would prefer the agency expand the use of non-lethal options, from increased land conservation to expanded distribution of bear-proof trash containers to help keep bears from being drawn to residences and businesses.
“People are really upset and concerned and trying to save one bear each,” MacFall said. “If they can, that is certainly something we support. If they are going through the proper channels and doing everything by the book, that is a good thing to do, to save that bear.”
Money raised through the application process and permits goes into the State Game Trust Fund for wildlife management.
People selected for the permits must have state hunting licenses to participate in the hunt.
The commission has placed a 10 percent cap on the number of permits for non-residents. Warthen said people who don’t pay for permits during a set time, other people would be offered the permits.
The last hunt in 2015 led to 304 bears being killed over two days. This year’s hunt is scheduled from Dec. 6 to Dec. 28 in four parts of the state. They are within the Apalachicola region west of Tallahassee; areas west of Jacksonville; an area north of Orlando; and the Big Cypress region southwest of Lake Okeechobee.
People applying for permits must indicate the zones — known as bear management units — where they intend to hunt.
“We heard loudly from the public (after 2015) that they wanted these to be bear management unit specific, and that really works for us too,” Warthen said.