Florida will have a black bear hunting season in December, the first there since 2015, after the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved guidelines.
More than 4,000 black bears live in Florida. State officials said Wednesday they will issue 187 permits for bear hunting zones in the East Panhandle, North, South and Central “bear management units.” Each permit allows the killing of one bear and will be distributed through a random drawing.
Hunters won’t be allowed to hunt bear cubs or female bears with cubs, according to Axios.
The approval for bear hunting comes just months after Florida’s first confirmed fatal bear attack on a person. In May, Robert Markel, 89, and his dog died in separate bear maulings on the victim’s property in Jerome.
People ages 18 and older are eligible for the permit and can apply as many times as they want for $5 an application, Florida wildlife officials said. The permit itself will cost $100 for Floridians and $300 for applicants outside the state, according to The Associated Press.
Officials said the bear hunt will manage population growth in the parts of Florida that have the largest number of the animals. The 2025 bear hunting season runs from Dec. 6-28, according to AP.
The 2015 hunt ended after just three days. Officials aimed for a total harvest of 320 hunted bears, but in two days hunters brought down 304, leading to the suspension, according to Florida State University radio station WFSU-FM.
Bear Warriors United, a nonprofit group formed in opposition to future bear hunts in Florida following the 2015 hunt, filed a lawsuit Tuesday to try and halt the 2025 hunting season, according to the news site Florida Politics.
“This decision, driven by pressure from trophy hunters and misinformation about bear-human conflicts, ignores both science and ethical wildlife management,” Bear Warriors United writes on its website, adding that “bears should not be killed for sport, for trophies or because some people refuse to take simple steps to secure their trash.”
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.