TALLAHASSEE, Florida — State wildlife officials said Tuesday 163,459 applications were submitted for the chance to buy a tag to kill bears in December.
But how many of those 172 tags could wind up in the hands of hunting opponents remains to be seen.
Details: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said the applications were submitted for $5 each through 11:59 p.m. Monday, the deadline for requesting a tag. The process raised more than a half-million dollars to be used by the agency for conservation, a spokesperson said.
Bear hunting opponents said they could acquire more than one-third of the tags to prevent them from being used to kill bears. They said as many as 100 people submitted the maximum 350 applications, or 35,000 applications, at a total cost of $1,750 each.
