JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Fifty-two - That’s how many bears were harvested during Florida’s first Black Bear hunt in a decade.
The number is far lower than the 172 permits that were made available for the season that ran from December 6th through this Sunday, and conservation advocates are celebrating the lower-than-expected number as a success.
At the same time, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Executive Director Roger Young called the hunt a success.
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“The 2025 black bear hunt, rooted in sound scientific data, was a success,” said Young. ”The limited number of permits issued in areas with the largest bear populations and other components of the hunt prioritized a conservative approach that ensures the long-term health of bear populations in Florida, while providing opportunity for hunters.”
According to the agency, there was only one warning issued for a “minor Wildlife Management Area violation,” and no citations were issued.
FWC characterized the hunt’s results as having a “hunter success rate very close to other states with similar hunt parameters”.
But Andrew Harris with the Sierra Club of Florida argued the final tally suggests the effort by advocates to protect bears may have been more successful than originally thought.
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Action News Jax previously reported 160,000 applications were submitted to try and secure a bear hunting tag, and as of December 15th, bear advocates claimed to have won at least 78 of them.
“We have, as other environmental groups have, worked on what we call ‘blunt the hunt,’” said Harris.
But Harris argued there’s another possibility as well.
He theorized FWC may have overestimated Florida’s Black Bear population, and hunters may have had a difficult time finding bears to hunt.
“Assuming for a moment that number is correct, I think it anecdotally says that there were less bears in the woods for people to hunt,” said Harris.
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Looking forward to next year, FWC’s plans call for a longer season that would run from October through December.
There are also plans to introduce the use of dogs the following year.
Given the hunt totals this year, Harris said he wants to see FWC do a better job of showing its work to justify any future hunt.
“We need science to support the numbers, and we don’t have it,” said Harris.
FWC has indicated it will have a full hunt report available in the coming months.
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