Florida Wildlife Commission Approves Contested 2025 Bear Hunt Amid Legal Challenge

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has approved a regulated black bear hunt set for December 2025, issuing 187 permits across four bear management units to manage the state's estimated 4,000 bears. This decision has sparked strong opposition and legal challenges from the advocacy group Bear Warriors United, which argues that the FWC violated its own rules by delegating authority improperly and relied on outdated science to justify the hunt. Bear Warriors United has filed lawsuits seeking to block the hunt, highlighting concerns that the bear population has actually decreased since the last hunt and criticizing the FWC’s management and decision-making processes. The group also points to the disastrous 2015 hunt, where 295 bears were killed in just two days, as a cautionary precedent. FWC maintains that the hunt is necessary to control population growth and reduce human-bear conflicts, despite public opposition and legal disputes. The outcome of these legal challenges could determine whether the hunt proceeds as planned.