TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced the application results Tuesday for the state's first black bear hunt in a decade: 163,459 applications were submitted for 172 permits.

That means hunters who applied for a bear hunting permit have around a 0.1% chance, on average, of actually getting one.

What You Need To Know • The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced the results of the 2025 Florida Black Bear Hunt application period on Tuesday • According to FWC, 163,459 people applied for 172 permits, meaning each hunter has a 0.23% chance, on average, of getting a permit • Hunters selected in the lottery will have until Oct. 6 to claim their permit, or it will go to the next person in the lottery queue

Permit allocations

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