JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Starting Friday, Florida hunters can begin applying for a tag to hunt Black Bears in the upcoming bear hunting season.
But as Florida hunters prepare for a shot at scoring a tag, bear advocates are also gearing up to do the same.
“We saw an enormous amount of success, an enormous amount of engagement. Over 163,000 tickets were purchased for the lottery last year,” said Susannah Randolph with Sierra Club’s Florida Chapter.
Sierra Club helped lead the effort to protect bears from the first Florida bear hunt in roughly a decade last year.
Because the tags are offered through a lottery system, bear advocates put in their own bids and managed to score at least 52 tags last year.
Advocates also offered to purchase tags from hunters, as Randolph argued every tag that goes unused is equal to a bear’s life saved.
“One thing that’s even more important to know for folks who are doing it this year, is that if they entered last year and didn’t win, they actually get preferential points for the lottery this year. So, you are more likely to win a permit this year than last year if you entered last year and did not win permit,” said Randolph.
Last year 172 tags were made available, and only 52 bears were hunted in the end.
This year, 215 tags are set to be awarded, which FWC said “Reflects a conservative approach to ensuring a sustainable harvest while achieving the goal of starting to slow annual growth rates in the state’s largest black bear populations”.
But Randolph said she doesn’t buy FWC’s claim that conservation was at the heart of the decision to offer up 43 additional tags this year.
“That is almost the amount that we got last year, permits that we were able to secure last year. So, it’s a little kind of suspicious,” said Randolph. ”What I will say, though, is that we are going to do it again. We have people ready for it. They saw the success of the effort last year. They are ready to go.”
Hunters and bear advocates alike looking to apply or a tag can do so here.
Sierra Club has also put up more detailed information explaining how to apply.
That information is available here.
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