Florida wildlife officials to vote on 1st bear hunt in a decade

HAVANA, Fla. – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is set to take a final vote Wednesday on whether to allow a seasonal black bear hunt for the first time in 10 years.

The proposal has drawn months of debate and demonstrations across the state. In the days leading up to the vote, protesters rallied in downtown Orlando and other cities, urging commissioners to reject the plan.

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“The more time we spend educating the public on how to live properly with bears, to reduce the negative bear-human conflict, the longer the bears would survive,” said Bryan Wilson, Central Florida coordinator for the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida.

Discussions over the hunt began in December 2024 as a way to reduce bear-human encounters and manage a popul