TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For more than two decades it's been illegal to hunt black bear in the state of Florida, but in less than three months, bear hunting season will open again for one week as an effort in population control.
Starting Oct. 24, hunters with bear hunting licenses will be guaranteed two days of hunting. After that, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will calculate how many bears have been killed and decide whether to allow the hunt to continue for the rest of the week.
The hunt is based upon an FWC estimate from a 2002 study that said there were about 3,000 black bears in the state. FWC started a new study in 2014 that is supposed to estimate bear numbers again, but those numbers won't be released until the study finishes in 2016.
The application process has only been open for a few weeks and already 1,500 permits have been sold, though only 320 bears can be hunted during the season, meaning many of those folks who pay the money for their license, go home empty-handed.
READ: List of granted bear hunting permits for NE Florida
"Bears are elusive, they've stayed alive for a long time so it's not going to be the easiest thing to do," licenses-holder, Chris Beladi said.
The license costs $100 for Florida residents and $300 for someone out-of-state, and allows hunters to take a bear from Oct. 24 through Oct. 30, and once those 320 bears are taken, the hunt will stop
"It's not like your kids soccer game where everyone gets a trophy afterwards," Beladi said.
Beladi, who's been hunting since he was 11, said even if he doesn't get a bear, he knows his money will go towards conservation, education and research.
Scott Clide, who also bought a license, said hunting is a serious sport and for people who take part in it, it's not just about killing an animal. He said hunters go through hours, weeks and months of weapon and outdoor skill training and that is rewarding in itself.
"It's not about the kill, it's about learning about the animals, and their habitats so that you can spot the opportunity to take that animal ethically, cleanly and quickly. You don't want anything to suffer," Clide said.
Even still, some hunters are expressing concern over the amount of licenses issued – Chris Anderson said the FWC is creating a free for all for the first two days which he said could cause people to hurry, break rules and take cheap shots at bears because they think they're only going to get that one shot.
"There are people that will go out and hunt just because they can. They're not sure of their target, and they take the shots anyway. People have been shot themselves, their dogs have been shot, it's a dangerous sport that everyone should take seriously, and should have some moral compass to drive them in their actions," Beladi said.
There are some other rules and regulations in terms of hunting bears. The bear has to be more than 100 pounds and can't be hunted if it's with more than one cub. More information about the hunt can also be found on FWC's website.
Even with the rules and regulations in place, and hunters who support conservation and sustainability one group is speaking up and trying to shut the hunt down.
Speak Up Wekiva is a group made up of volunteers that got together in 2013 and filed a suit against the FWC saying it violated the state constitution and said in a statement:
"The FWC was created by state constitutional Amendment 5 in 1998 to preserve and conserve wildlife. They were not created to provide entertainment for Ted Nugent and his fan club. Make no mistake, this is an uphill David vs Goliath battle, but we are not afraid to risk losing a legal battle. To us, not fighting is tantamount to losing. So we depend on the real Floridians to step forward and help."
The group has set up a GoFundMe page for legal expenses and court costs and has raised more than $5,100.