Photo by: One Protest/Bear Defenders
Floridians are reacting with outrage and disbelief to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) recent proposal to reopen a trophy hunting season to kill the state’s iconic black bears.
The disastrous plan would allow for up to 187 black bears to be killed using such inhumane methods as hounding, baiting, and archery.
Webinars held by the FWC in March and April to gather public input drew hundreds of concerned residents, many from Humane World for Animals and OneProtest. Overwhelmingly, participants voiced strong opposition to the cruel hunt.
This proposal is a painful step backward. It defies the will of Floridians who have fought hard to protect black bears from senseless killing. In 2015, the FWC authorized a bear hunt for the first time in decades, a decision that ended in devastation. More than 300 bears were slaughtered in just 48 hours, including nursing mothers. Experts believe over 100 cubs may have been orphaned and left to die. The public outcry that followed forced the agency to halt the hunt, but now, just a few years later, it seems those lessons have been forgotten.
The most disturbing part is that even the FWC admits this hunt lacks a scientific basis. Their data shows that black bears in Florida are not overpopulated, and habitats can support more bears. A hunting season won’t resolve human-wildlife conflicts. Yet, in its webinars, the agency revealed that a primary motivation for the hunt is to provide ‘access to the resource’ to a small, vocal group of trophy hunters.
“A Florida bear hunt has nothing to do with conservation and instead sacrifices Florida’s wildlife and the public trust to appease a tiny fringe group of trophy hunters. Practices like hounding and baiting—methods that inflict extreme cruelty and chaos in our forests—are even more disturbing,” said Kate MacFall, Florida state director for Humane World for Animals.
The proposed practices are not only cruel but also dangerous. Baiting leads bears to associate humans with food, increasing future conflict and contradicting the state’s goals. Hounding, a barbaric method that involves setting packs of dogs on bears, often results in violent encounters, sometimes killing cubs. These chases intrude on private land, disrupt communities, and endanger people, pets, and wildlife. Moreover, with archery, bears often die slowly, suffering from injuries and blood loss instead of experiencing a swift death.
Recent polling shows that the public is not on board: over two-thirds of Floridians oppose bear trophy hunting. Nearly 80% oppose using dogs, and 80% are against baiting. Fewer than 1% of Floridians hold hunting licenses, and even fewer would consider hunting a black bear. This is not conservation.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is expected to vote on this proposal in May, and the next public meeting is scheduled for May 21st in Ocala, Florida.
“Establishing a bear hunting season will not stop bear-human interactions. This is because the problem is not bear overpopulation; it is a failure of humans to secure their trash and remove bear attractants,” OneProtest shared on social media. “The FWC has previously stated that bear hunting does not reduce bear-human conflicts. If the FWC has a bear hunt, the bears that will be killed are bears in the forest, not the bears that are lured into neighborhoods by trash and other attractants.”
“It is time we expose and end this barbaric practice of bear hunting. With their habitat shrinking every second of every day, we owe it to them to take a stand to protect the last forests they inhabit!” Said Adam Sugalski, Executive Director of OneProtest.
OneProtest is a nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing and challenging systemic animal cruelty and environmental exploitation. Its founder, Adam Sugalski, evolved their successful “Stop The Florida Bear Hunt” initiative into Bear Defenders—a campaign under the OneProtest umbrella—aimed at using the hard-earned lessons from that fight to protect bear populations across the globe.
This isn’t just disappointing, it’s devastating. Once again, Florida’s black bears are in the crosshairs. They don’t need to be hunted. They need to be protected.
Take Action: Help stop the proposed black bear trophy hunt in Florida. Call or email Governor Ron DeSantis today and urge him to reject this cruel and unnecessary plan. The lives of Florida’s black bears depend on it.
Phone: (850) 717-9337
Email: [email protected]
You can also help stop the Florida bear hunt by signing Bear Defenders’ petition HERE!
Florida wildlife advocates are hosting a rally to stop the hunt on May 4th. You can find out more information HERE!
Bear Defenders will also be hosting a statewide protest at various locations in Florida on May 17th. You can find the locations HERE!
