Being a black bear in Florida has never been easy—but lately, it's become downright dangerous. Not long ago, a state lawmaker bizarrely accused bears of getting high on crack cocaine and wrecking homes, turning these animals into public villains with no real evidence.
Now, things have escalated. A new Florida law gives residents the unchecked right to kill any bear they believe poses a threat, with no legal consequences. Wildlife defenders warn that this vague policy opens the door to indiscriminate killing, especially when curious bears unintentionally enter suburban areas in search of food.
On top of that, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is moving forward with plans for a three-week bear hunt in December, targeting the removal of up to 187 black bears. That number represents nearly 5% of the state's estimated bear population.
Opponents argue this isn't about safety or science—it's about trophy hunting. The hunt would reintroduce cruel practices that many believed were gone for good: baiting bears, chasing them down with hound dogs, and killing them with archery equipment. These are not population control measures—they're a step backward in modern conservation.
Adam Sugalski, founder of Bear Defenders, is at the forefront of the opposition. He and other advocates are urging the FWC to cancel the plan before the final decision is made in August.
“They’ve already stripped away nearly all protections for bears,” Sugalski says. “And now they’re talking about letting packs of dogs loose in the woods to hunt them down. It’s brutal and unnecessary.”
Support is pouring in from groups like the Sierra Club’s Florida chapter, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and Defenders of Wildlife. Their key concern? The FWC is relying on outdated data, using a population estimate that hasn’t been updated in over a decade to justify this aggressive hunt.
The FWC’s own records estimate around 4,050 black bears live in Florida—but that figure comes from over ten years ago. Even back then, the agency didn’t define a maximum bear population, only suggesting when numbers might exceed available habitat.
James Scott, former Sierra Club Florida chair and campaign coordinator for Speak Up Wekiva, doesn’t mince words: “This isn’t conservation—it’s a rich man’s pastime.”
According to Scott, if Florida's bear numbers were truly out of control and causing damage to ecosystems, a science-backed strategy might be worth exploring. But there's no evidence to support that now. Instead, he says, wealthy trophy hunters and politically connected land developers are pushing the narrative that bears are a nuisance.
Many of those making the decisions at the FWC are appointed by the governor, and some have direct ties to real estate development—an industry that doesn’t always see bears as welcome neighbors.
Even the agency’s own 2019 Bear Management Plan never recommended resuming hunts. In fact, it clearly stated that black bears were still listed as a threatened species as recently as 2012, and that conservation efforts were still ongoing.
Floridians haven’t forgotten the chaos of the last sanctioned hunt in 2015. What was meant to be a week-long event was shut down in just 48 hours after more than 3,000 hunters flooded the woods. They ended up killing over 300 bears, including mothers and cubs that were supposed to be off-limits. In some zones, hunters exceeded quotas by more than double. Several were even caught using bait illegally.
After that disaster, bear hunts were shelved—until this year. The new plan, already passed in a preliminary 4-1 vote, would allow a 23-day hunt in December, with a target of 187 bears spread across four regions. Permits would cost $300 per hunter, or $100 for Florida residents, plus a $5 fee to apply.
In response, Bear Defenders launched a petition against the hunt, which has already gathered over 40,000 signatures from concerned Floridians and wildlife lovers across the country.
The FWC defends the hunt on its website, claiming it’s a necessary step to manage bear populations and prevent them from encroaching on human neighborhoods. They also argue that hunting creates economic and recreational opportunities, saying harvested bears can provide meat, fur, and fat, and that the proceeds support conservation programs.
But critics say these justifications are hollow. “No one’s hunting bears for the meat—it’s greasy and hardly edible,” says Scott. “Let’s not pretend this is about food. It’s about power and ego. These are the same guys who go on safari trips to shoot giraffes and lions—they want a bear head on the wall, not meat on the table.”
To conservationists, the real tragedy is that Florida’s black bear population was once on the brink of extinction, and only through years of hard-fought protections did it begin to rebound. Now, those gains could be wiped out by political pressure, bad science, and a dangerous push for blood sport.
Unless the FWC changes course, Florida’s bears may soon find themselves hunted not for public safety, but for bragging rights—a grim fate for one of the state's most iconic wild animals.
Description:
"Florida’s black bears are under threat again as the state approves a controversial December hunt targeting nearly 200 animals. Wildlife advocates call it a trophy hunt driven by politics, not science. Discover why conservationists are fighting back against cruel methods like bear baiting and dog-assisted hunting, and what this means for the future of Florida's wildlife."