Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)

Rule Changes

Released 2025 harvest data; analyzing for future hunts

Florida launched a state-sanctioned black bear hunt on December 6, 2025—the first since 2015—allowing 172 lottery-selected permit holders to kill one bear each across four hunting zones, but only 52 bears were harvested by season's end on December 28, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) data released December 29. The limited take came despite over 163,000 applications, including activist efforts to secure and idle permits, and followed a failed lawsuit by Bear Warriors United, with 75% of 13,000 public comments opposing the hunt.

Updated Feb 5