Florida Reopens State Black Bear Hunt After a Decade — Conservation Groups Mobilize to Limit Kills

Florida Reopens State-Sanctioned Black Bear Hunt (Dec. 6–26)

Florida has reinstated a state-authorized black bear hunting season for the first time since 2015. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) set the season from Saturday, Dec. 6, through Friday, Dec. 26 and issued 172 permits after receiving more than 160,000 applications. Each permit authorizes the harvest of one bear.

In a Guide to Bear Hunting in Florida, the FWC said regulated hunting is a population-management tool intended to prevent future overpopulation in the state’s four largest subpopulations before available habitat becomes insufficient. "Early action would allow the agency to monitor conditions and adaptively manage the population so it never reaches that risk level," the agency wrote.

Local conservation groups have mounted an organized response to try to limit the number of bears taken this season. The Florida chapter of the Sierra Club suggested opponents apply for permits to reduce the odds that active hunters will be selected. Bear Warriors United, a bear advocacy group, is offering $2,000 to any permit holder who agrees not to participate; the group’s executive director, Katrina Shadix, said one permit holder accepted the offer and cut up his tag in public.

The agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment from PEOPLE on Dec. 6. The reinstatement of the hunt has revived memories of Florida’s controversial 2015 season: that year more than 3,700 permits were issued, over 300 bears were killed, and officials reported at least 38 females with cubs among the killed — a factor that contributed to the hunt being suspended after just two days.

Conservationists and wildlife managers point to Florida’s conservation history for context: the black bear population fell below 500 in the 1970s, prompting decades of recovery work. Today experts estimate roughly 4,000 Florida black bears remain in the wild, but continuing subpopulation growth and habitat pressure are central to the current debate over whether a limited, regulated hunt is necessary.

What’s at stake: Balancing long-term population management and habitat limits against ethical, ecological and community concerns raised by conservation groups and the public.

Key facts: Season: Dec. 6–26 | Permits issued: 172 | Applications received: 160,000+ | Allowed take: 1 bear per permit.