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4h ago

Florida Opens First Black Bear Hunt in 10 Years Under 172-Permit Lottery

Opponents hold dozens of permits they say they will not use to reduce kills.

Joel Cleveland poses with his Florida bear hunting permit Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
State wildlife officials, shown in an Orlando Sentinel photo in 2015, weigh the carcass of a black bear at a check station in the Rock Springs Run Wildlife Management Area, 30 miles north of Orlando, Florida. The bear was among 304 killed during the state's last bear hunt. A 23-day hunt, the first since 2015, begins today amid sharply divided public opinion. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)
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Overview

  • The season runs Dec. 6–28 with one bear allowed per permit in four designated zones that each have set quotas.
  • More than 160,000 applications were filed for 172 non‑transferable tags, which cost $100 for residents and $300 for nonresidents with $5 per application.
  • At least 43 permits went to critics who do not plan to hunt, with activists bankrolling mass entries and offering $2,000 to tag holders to sit out, including a donor who spent more than $200,000.
  • State wildlife officials estimate more than 4,000 black bears in Florida and say regulated hunting supports population management and conservation funding.
  • A judge denied an emergency injunction on Nov. 24, and the hunt proceeds under stricter rules than 2015 when over 3,700 permits were issued and 304 bears were killed before the season was halted early.