Florida Fish & Wildlife trims December bear hunt permits

With more than 100,000 permit applications submitted for a December bear hunt, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has reduced the number permits that will be issued — and the number of bears that may be killed — by 15.

After saying last month that it would issue 187 permits, the commission has reduced that number to 172, according to its website. A commission spokeswoman didn’t give an explanation for the decrease.

The decrease was first reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

The 23-day hunt is scheduled to start Dec. 6 and be held in four regions of the state. Permits will be issued through a lottery-style process, with people who receive permits each able to kill one bear. The commission has reduced the number of permits available in an area west of Jacksonville from 46