Bear Warriors United, an environmental advocacy group dedicated to protecting Florida's wildlife, has filed a lawsuit against the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) over its recent decision to reinstate a regulated black bear hunting season.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Commissioners approved the new regulations last week, ending a 10-year pause on black bear hunting in the state. The practice was originally banned in 2015 after hunters exceeded their quota by killing over 300 bears in just two days, resulting in backlash from critics.
In a petition filed with the Division of Administrative Hearings, Bear Warriors United argued the proposed rule is "invalid because it gives the FWC executive director, or designee,
unbridled authority to issue permits to kill bears annually without any guidance or scientific
facts."
They also added the rule "impermissibly delegates the FWC’s important
decision about continued bear hunts to an executive director or designee, not the seven
constitutionally appointed and affirmed members, thus, removing the public’s right to be
heard."
New regulations on black bear hunting are scheduled to take effect on Dec. 6 and run through the last Sunday of the month, or 23 days. For now, the hunt will be allowed across four Bear Hunting Zones (BHZs) in the East Panhandle, North, Central, and South, with a statewide quota of 187 bears over the first two years, or one per permit.
Approximately 4,000 black bears live in Florida. Notably, black bears are not listed as an endangered species in the state, having been removed from Florida's threatened list in 2012 due to successful conservation efforts.
"The FWC’s Notice of Proposed Rule failed to materially follow the law concerning rule-making by not providing the public with FWC’s supporting methodology or scientific facts
to support its decision, and wrongly limited and misinformed the public about how to
provide public comments on the proposed rule," the group argued.
