JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Despite numerous efforts to try and stop it, the Florida black bear hunt officially kicks off Saturday.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the hunt will end on Dec. 28.
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The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted in August to approve the hunt — the first since 2015. The commission used a lottery-style system to grant permits, with each permit-holder able to kill one bear.
A total of 172 permits were issued.
The FWC said it’s bringing back the hunt because it believes it is an effective tool to try and balance population numbers, which data shows is over 4,000.
But opponents of the hunt contend that the commission’s approval was not based on sound science and used outdated bear population estimates.
There was an emergency injunction that was filed back in October, but a circuit judge denied the request on Nov. 24, which means the hunt is still on.
There are four bear harvest zones: East Panhandle, North, Central, and South.
News4JAX paid a visit to Green Acres Sporting Goods store in Jacksonville.
We spoke with the firearms manager, who said he’s seen a few customers who are gearing up for the bear hunt, but this time of the year, in general, brings in more customers because of the hunting season.
He said gun safety is something to be stressed — especially with this bear hunt coming up.
“If you are doing this, you obviously have a hunting license. You should’ve already completed a hunter’s safety course. So you definitely don’t want to be out there without the proper knowledge as far as general gun safety, so I definitely recommend taking a hunter’s safety course,” Ziadeh Farhet, firearms manager at Green Acres, said.
FWC released what it called a “2025 Guide to Bear Hunting in Florida.” Click here to read it.