After a controversial 2015 hunt, Florida officials appointed by the governor reopened the black bear hunt season this fall. Animal advocacy groups strongly opposed it.

Leer en español

More than 165 people signed up to speak during a public Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Havana, a town in Gadsden County.

George Warthen, the commission’s chief conservation officer, said the proposal, requested by the commission in December 2024, considered Florida’s “current population estimate,” which he listed as old as 2010 in the Big Bend, 2014 in the Central area, and 2015 in the South.

“Bear populations are growing,” Warthen said during the meeting at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Conference Center.

Warthen said the staff recommended requiri

See Full Page