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Florida bear hunt permits move forward
People seeking to obtain one of the limited number of permits for the state’s first bear hunt in a decade can start to pay $5 entry fees on Friday.
ORLANDO, Fla. - The state’s first bear hunt in a decade moves forward on Friday when people seeking to obtain one of the limited number of permits can pay a $5 entry fee.
What we know:
Florida will open applications Friday for its first bear hunt in a decade. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is offering 187 permits through a lottery system, with applications accepted online until Sept. 22.
Applicants must be 18 or older and hold a state hunting license. Selected hunters will pay $100 for a permit if they are Florida residents and $300 if they are from out of state. A 10% cap is set for non-resident permits.
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The hunt will run from Dec. 6 to Dec. 28 across four regions: Apalachicola in the Panhandle, areas west of Jacksonville, land north of Orlando and the Big Cypress region southwest of Lake Okeechobee.
What we don't know:
Officials have not specified how many bears could be killed under the 2025 hunt. It is also unclear whether quotas will be imposed in each region or whether the season could be shortened as it was in 2015. Wildlife officials have estimated Florida has about 4,050 black bears, but opponents argue the number is too low to justify hunting.
The backstory:
Florida last authorized bear hunting in 2015, when more than 3,700 permits were sold without limits. Hunters killed 304 bears in just two days, leading officials to halt what was supposed to be a weeklong season.
That hunt drew sharp backlash from animal rights groups and residents, some of whom called it inhumane and unsustainable. Since then, the state has not approved another hunt until now, citing the need for more study and management.
Big picture view:
The return of bear hunting underscores Florida’s ongoing debate over how to balance wildlife conservation with population management. State officials say hunting is one way to control conflicts between bears and humans, particularly in fast-growing areas near bear habitats.
Critics counter that development and poor trash management are the main drivers of encounters, and that culling the bear population is unnecessary.
What's next:
Florida wildlife officials estimate more than 4,000 bears statewide, and this hunt is designed to keep the population healthy and reduce conflicts with people.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will take applications online at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com, for a lottery-style drawing. Applications can be submitted through Sept. 22.
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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)