Florida approves first bear hunt in a decade, defying a surge of opponents

Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel on Aug 13, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s wildlife commissioners set aside pleas and arguments from black bear advocates Wednesday and approved a December hunt of the state’s shy but increasingly troublesome species.

The board’s unanimous 5-0 vote — with two commissioners absent — followed more than two hours of rancorous public comment with hunters and wildlife defenders trading barbs and disagreeing about how much science the state used to craft rules for Florida’s first bear hunt in a decade, with more to follow annually.

“Hunting is the tool most commonly used to manage bear populations,” said George Warthen, the state’s conservation chief, at the meeting in Havana, Florida, on the state’s panhandle.

Opponents countered by pointing out the state Fish & Wildlife agency had not yet finished an update of an “abundance” survey of its largest land mammal, previously listed as a threatened species because its known numbers dwindled to less than 500 in the 1970’s.

They also argued the commission was considering “cruel rules” to allow the use of bow-and-arrows and tracking dogs.

State experts estimate about 4,000 Florida black bears now roam the peninsula with the largest subpopulation in Central Florida.

The rules approved with little discussion by wildlife commissioners set a harvest or kill limit at 187 bears in 2025.

Hunters also got the OK to kill bears over a bait or feed station, a tactic forbidden in the last hunt, in 2015.

They also won’t be required to bring a kill to a check-in station for inspection like in that 2015 hunt.

“We had no way of taking any virtual or digital check-in information back then. We were a little late to the game,” Warthen said referring to the technology commonly used in recent years for hunters to tag and report the killing of game species from alligators to deer to turkeys.

More than 170 people addressed the wildlife commission during a public comment period. Those in favor of a bear hunt wore fluorescent blaze orange while opponents donned black t-shirts featuring the message “Stop The Bear Hunt” lettered in blood red.

Opponents derided the proposal as a trophy hunt for the rich.

Proponents, some claiming to be life-long Floridians, argued it was their right to hunt an animal invading their neighborhoods.

_____