Florida wildlife panel moves forward with bear hunt plans

By Bruce Ritchie | 05/21/2025 04:05 PM EDT

“It is a very conservative harvest we are looking at,” state wildlife official Morgan Richardson said.

Citizens attending a Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission hearing about proposed bear hunting, wear t-shirts against legalized bear hunting.

Some critics called the proposal a "trophy hunt" and said the state should be concerned about loss of habitat due to hunting and trash management rather than allowing a hunt. John Raoux/AP

Florida wildlife officials voted Wednesday to take a major step toward holding the state’s first bear hunt in a decade.

Details: The state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted 4-1 to consider rules in August that would allow 187 bears, or less than 5 percent of the estimated statewide population, to be killed in four zones.

Commission members during their discussion didn’t advocate for a hunt but asked whether they could return in August to make changes. They also raised concerns about the proposal allowing hunting over wildlife feeders.

“It is a very conservative harvest we are looking at,” Morgan Richardson, the agency’s director of hunting and game management, responded to the panel during the meeting in Ocala.

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