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FWC Give Final Approval For Florida Black Bear Hunt (But Not In Escambia, Santa Rosa)
August 14, 2025
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has given final approval for black bear hunting in Florida.
The new rules establish Bear Hunting Zones (BHZ) within four of the seven existing Bear Management Units. FWC said 187 total permits will be issued through a random drawing across the east Panhandle, North, Central and South BMUs, and each permit will allow the harvest of one bear within the assigned BHZ.
The nearest county to North Escambia to be included in the bear hunt is Bay County. Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties are not included.
“I am proud that Florida is joining the majority of states that manage black bears with regulated hunting,” said Rodney Barreto, Chairman of the FWC. “The components of the hunt are conservative and prioritize conservation, with a limited number of permits only being issued in the areas of the state with the largest bear populations.”
Many groups have opposed the hunt, include the Sierra Club of Florida.
“Today’s vote is a disgrace to Florida’s wildlife legacy. Our black bears are a vital part of our natural heritage, and killing them is not science-based management – it’s a politically driven step backward,” said Susanna Rudolph, Sierra Club Florida director. “Let’s be clear: Governor DeSantis can stop this hunt. On behalf of Sierra Club’s members and supporters across Florida, we urge him to do so before it endangers an already threatened species and opens the door to further destruction of critical wilderness habitat. Thousands of Floridians have rallied, written, called, and emailed to protect our bears. It’s time for our leadership to step up and listen to their constituents.
Comments
10 Responses to “FWC Give Final Approval For Florida Black Bear Hunt (But Not In Escambia, Santa Rosa)”
SAVE THE BEARS!!!!
@Susie Coyotes are multiplying at unmanageable levels. Destroying quail, rabbit, and other small wildlife that once were abundant. Not to mention their domestic animal encounters. I’m 100%+ in favor of the FWC and the State of Florida to offer a bounty on each coyote carcass collected.
The Black bear and the Coyotes need a Federal Reserve where they can live outside of overcrowded housing. FWC used to be for conservation. Instead we have miles of homes begging to be sold, solar power fields that kill birds and animals, among other nuisances. What happened? Animals wouldn’t be roaming to find food if WE didn’t steal their homes and resources. There is a ton of property here for the animals. Why not give them their own Reserve and allow them to live as well? Trap them safely and take them to their own fenced acreage where they’ll carry on as God intended them to.
the meat is really good and the fur is great.
Anne………….. We as a human animal have taken territory from other animals.
Management comes with the idea that what animals are out there have a place to be and food to eat. When one or more of those dont line up then we must make adjustments tot he animal population.
Yes one day there will be no place for animals if we continue to expand.
We love to spread out and get away from other people and for good reasons.
THe Forever wild forest do a good job of allowing logging, hunting and management.
@Ann
RIGHT ON…..
To the soft hearts out there, you open your door to the garage and face to face one of these animals and see how loving you are to them. Its is not a loving or laughing matter. Your life is in your hands. Yes there is a lot of building going on in Florida. But there is a lot of forest left yet. They need to stay there. Just saying
I think this is repulsive and agree with @anne. WE destroy their habits and then complain when they are trying to survive and our response is to kill them vs trying to find a way to co-exist with them. We humans seems to learn NOTHING from history. For as smart as many think we, the human race are, we are stupid and vain.
I thought the Sierra Club was one of them there high dollar, fancy hunting clubs. Who knew? LOL! Now for the bears, it is a NIMBY problem (Not In My Back Yard). Ever notice when they show-up, those opposed to hunting always squeal mightily for FWC to do something and remove the bears?
Hmm. We destroy their habitats with concrete & bricks taking away their food supply.
Then we holler when they turn over our trash cans looking for survival food, they do not snack. They attack when they feel threatened, they don’t go out looking to hunt a human. Then the humans decided to eliminate some of the bears. Makes me wonder how humans sleep at night.
The conservation groups should focus efforts on slowing and managing residential growth. The builders are responsible for careless destruction of habitat, and with less habitat comes the necessity to control wildlife populations.