PHOTO BY PETE NUIJ VIA UNSPLASH.COM
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is offering up to 215 bear hunting permits this year, an increase from the 172 permits issued for last year’s hunt. Of this year’s permits, 193 will be available through a $5 lottery entry beginning September 11. The remaining 22 permits will go to large private landowners who meet requirements including at least 5,000 contiguous acres and a documented bear population.
This year’s hunt is scheduled for December 5 through December 27 across four regions of the state. The Central zone, which includes Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties, will have 21 permits available.
Last year marked Florida’s first state-sanctioned bear hunt since 2015. It resulted in 52 bears killed over 23 days, well short of expectations, after hunt opponents applied for permits in bulk to keep them out of hunters’ hands. The commission received more than 163,000 permit applications from nearly 15,000 individuals last year.
The permitting window runs September 11 through September 21, with drawn applicants given until October 5 to pay for a permit. Florida residents pay $100, and non-residents pay $300, with non-resident participation capped at 10 percent of permits.
Supporters of the hunt point to bear population growth and a 2024 ballot measure enshrining hunting and fishing rights in the state constitution. Opponents, including Sierra Club Florida, argue the hunt does little to reduce human-bear conflicts and have called for non-lethal population management instead.
