Bear Hunt

With more than 100,000 permit applications submitted for a December bear hunt, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has reduced the number permits that will be issued — and the number of bears that may be killed — by 15. After saying last month that it would issue 187 permits, the commission has reduced that number to 172, according to its website. A commission spokeswoman didn’t give an explanation for the decrease. The decrease was first reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

A conservation group has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission from holding the state’s first bear hunt in a decade.Bear Warriors United filed the 15-page lawsuit Wednesday in Leon County circuit court, contending the commission violated several legal requirements, including approving a hunt using “obsolete” bear population numbers. The 23-day hunt, approved by the commission last month, is scheduled to start Dec. 6.

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.

The first black bear hunt in Florida in a decade takes place in December under a rule adopted Wednesday by state wildlife officials. This is despite strong opposition to the eventual use of dogs and hunting the animals in baited locations. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted unanimously in favor of the plan during a meeting that drew 168 people. The public hearing took place in the Panhandle town of Havana. Opponents called the hunt cruel, unnecessary and an excuse for hunters to bag a trophy animal. They say the real issue is the encroaching human population in bear habitat as Florida continues to grow.

Amid support from hunters and warnings of a “slaughter” from animal-rights advocates, state wildlife officials Wednesday moved forward with Florida’s first black bear hunt in a decade.Before a crowd that spread into at least four extra rooms at the College of Central Florida in Ocala, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted 4-1 for staff members to return with rules for a December hunt that would be held in four parts of the state and could lead to as many as 187 bears being killed.Hunters could receive permits through a lottery system.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted 4-1 at a meeting in favor of a bear hunt in December and annually into the future, allowing the use of up to six dogs to corner the bears.

Florida is one step closer to having a bear hunt during the 2025-2026 hunting season, despite protests and opposition to the hunt.At this week’s Commission meeting in Ocala on Wednesday, Commissioners of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted to approve proposed amendments to bear hunting rules for advertising in the Florida Administrative Register. The rule proposals are expected to be brought back before the commission at its August 2025 meeting for a final hearing and, if the final rules are approved, most changes would take effect during the 2025-26 hunting season.

Could a Black Bear Hunt return to The Sunshine State? Florida Fish and Wildlife are preparing to make their decision if the conservation effort takes place later this year.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will hold a series of virtual public meetings to collect feedback directly from Florida residents on proposals for highly regulated black bear hunting in Florida.

An independent researcher is confirming the state’s claims about a rebounding Florida black bear population.