Florida May Let People Hunt Bears for 1st Time in 10 Years

Florida may let people hunt bears for the first time in 10 years, although the plan was in the works before a man and his dog were killed by one.

According to First Coast News, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission “is considering a bear hunt to take place this December.” The Commission’s website confirms that it is considering implementing bear hunting.

Robert Markel, 89, and his dog were killed by a black bear “in a rural area east of Naples,” Florida, on May 6, 2025, according to WESH. After his death, officials killed three bears.

The last bear hunt in Florida was a decade before, First Coast News reported, adding that some people don’t want it to happen. However, the Commission’s website indicates that the possibility of a bear hunt was underway before Markel’s death.

“It’s really a trophy hunt,” Adam Sugalski of Jacksonville told the television station, which reported that he “founded a group called One Protest, aimed at combating injustice to animals.”

Others support a bear hunt for population control, First Coast News reported.

The Commission has an entire web page devoted to the black bears in Florida.

“The black bear population has come back from just several hundred bears in the 1970s to over 4,000 today and is one of Florida’s most successful conservation efforts,” the Commission wrote on the website.

“Regulated black bear hunting occurred in Florida in the 1930s and continued until 1994. Hunting was closed until 2015, when it was reopened in the fall. No bear hunting seasons have been open since 2015,” the website says.

The FWC’s Bear Management Program “gave Commissioners a 5-year update on implementing the 2019 Florida Black Bear Management Plan at the December 2024 Commission meeting, highlighting recent bear management and research efforts. Following the presentation, the Commissioners directed staff to return to a future Commission meeting to propose options for implementing a potential bear hunt,” the website says.

“The primary objectives of regulated hunting are to balance species population numbers with suitable habitat and to maintain a healthy population, as stated in the 2019 Bear Management Plan. Hunting provides people with recreational and economic benefits. A hunter can use the meat, pelt, fat, and other parts of any bear they harvest,” the Commission added.

The last time there was a Florida bear hunt, “3,776 permits were sold, 99 percent (3,724) of which were obtained by Florida residents,” the Commission wrote in a summary report.

Related: U.S. Announces Major Plan for 42 New Hunting Opportunities Nationwide