ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida is set to hold its first bear hunt in a decade this December, with more than 160,000 applicants vying for just 172 permits.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) says the hunt will help control the bear population, which is estimated at around 4,000 bears statewide.
The hunt will take place in four designated zones. The Central Bear Harvest Zone will include parts of Volusia, Flagler, Marion, Sumter, Lake, Orange and Seminole counties.
Of the 163,459 applications received by FWC, nearly 50,000 are to hunt in the Central Bear Harvest Zone.
FWC will run a lottery to select the 172 awarded permits.
Those selected will have until Oct. 6 to claim their permit. Any unclaimed permit will be available to the next person “waiting in line.”
Environmental activists, including Susannah Randolph from the Sierra Club, argue that the bear population cannot sustain this hunt.
“Development encroaches on their land every day, cars are hitting them, encounters with humans are causing them to be killed. They just cannot sustain this hunt, so we have to stop it,” Randolph said.
In Heathrow, a community in Lake Mary, some neighbors have expressed concerns about the increasing presence of bears in their neighborhoods.
Ivette Valladares Barrios and her young grandson had a close encounter with a black bear that approached their screened patio Tuesday.
Geovanna Barrios says she’s in favor of the bear hunt because bears have become a nuisance in her neighborhood. She says there’s concern walking with kids or pets outside after dark.
“It’s a safety issue. We’re talking about bears or our children. I mean we’ve got thousands of kids that live just in this actual community. We can’t let them play outside,” she explained.
FWC reported an increase in bear-related calls, with more than 7,000 incidents in 2023.
This rise in encounters has fueled the debate over the necessity of the hunt.
Florida’s black bear hunt is scheduled from Dec. 6 to Dec. 28.
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