Despite the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) framing the proposed bear hunt as “highly regulated wildlife management,” the facts tell a different story. This is not about conservation. It’s not about reducing conflict. This is about trophy hunting—and the evidence is clear.

❌ Outdated Science and Flawed Justifications

• 📉 No Recent Population Data
  The FWC is relying on bear population estimates that are over a decade old. There have been no recent, peer-reviewed studies supporting a hunt as necessary for population control.
• 🔍 “Highly Regulated” Without Real Oversight
  The shift from “carefully regulated” to “highly regulated” is political spin. There are no clear scientific benchmarks, enforcement plans, or external peer review—just a vague promise of oversight.
• 📍 No Physical Check Stations
  In 2015, hunters were required to bring their kills to check stations. That safeguard is now gone. Instead, hunters self-report via app, with no way to verify kills, sex, age, or quota compliance.
• 💸 Black Market Incentives
  Bears are already illegally trafficked for their gall bladders and paws. A long, unmonitored hunt makes enforcement even harder. Even one FWC commissioner admitted they’d have to “deal with the black market somehow.” That’s not a plan—it’s a risk.

🏹 Prioritizing Trophy Hunters on Private Lands

Under the proposed rules, large private landowners—even those not selected in the public lottery—will be allowed to hunt bears on their property for an extended three-month period: October through December, every year. In contrast, public land hunters must be selected through a lottery system and will only have a three-week window to hunt. They are also restricted by a limited quota of bear tags.

On private lands, harvests will be self-reported via text or phone call, with no in-person monitoring or physical check stations. With properties often spanning thousands of acres, there's no realistic way to ensure legal compliance or humane hunting practices. Once hunters report their kill, FWC may declare the quota “met”—with no way to verify accuracy.

The proposal allows up to nine hunters to pursue a single bear, raising the risk of unethical or inhumane behavior. There are growing concerns that lottery tags could be resold for thousands of dollars, effectively creating a pay-to-kill system that caters to trophy seekers—regardless of skill, intent, or conservation values.

These hunts also allow for practices that violate ethical hunting standards, including:

• Baiting bears with food like donuts to lure them into kill zones
• Using dogs to chase bears, which causes prolonged stress and disrupts natural behaviors

Such tactics fail the Fair Chase test, the basic ethical standard upheld by most responsible hunters.

This system privileges wealthy landowners and trophy hunters, while offering the general public limited access, stricter controls, and a much narrower timeframe—all under a broken enforcement model.

🐾 Human–Bear Conflict Is Being Misrepresented

• Most bear encounters happen around unsecured garbage or food waste. These are preventable with:
  • Bear-proof bins, often available for free
  • Bear-resistant straps, many under $10
• Farmers have humane, effective tools to protect livestock, including:
  • Guardian dogs and donkeys, which deter predators without violence
• Many Floridians enjoy watching bears from afar, especially in the fall. Security cameras show bears quietly passing through yards—rarely posing any threat.

Ironically, FWC uses food to lure bears for research, and hunters use donuts and sweets as bait—while telling the public not to feed bears. If we condition bears to seek human food, we create conflict, then blame the bear.

And let’s not forget— FWC has acknowledged that aggressive or off-leash dogs are a leading cause of human-bear conflicts—especially when mother bears are defending their cubs. Yet, under the proposed rules, hunters would be allowed to pursue bears with dogs.

🧑‍⚖️ Who’s Making These Decisions?

• Not scientists. Not wildlife experts. Not ecologists.
  Every FWC commissioner is from the business world, many tied to real estate, development, and politics.
• Preston Farrior is an international trophy hunter, pictured with dead bears.
• Chairman Rodney Barreto is a real estate investor who raises money for Super Bowls.

🔗 View the commissioners’ bios: myfwc.com/about/commission/commissioners

🔚 Bottom Line: This Is Not Conservation — It Undermines It

There is no scientific justification, no ecological need, and no ethical foundation for this hunt.

Florida has made a historic commitment to conservation: over the last three years, the Legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis have approved $2 billion in funding for land conservation—including nearly $1 billion in this year’s budget alone. That’s not just remarkable—it’s monumental.

Much of this investment supports the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a visionary effort to connect natural habitats across the state. The goal? To give wildlife like the Florida black bear the space and genetic diversity they need to survive and thrive. A trophy hunt directly undermines that mission.

Killing bears on the edge of recovery, with outdated data, weak oversight, and unethical practices, sends the message that Florida protects land—but not the wildlife that lives on it.

This is not wildlife management.
It’s a trophy hunt—full stop.
And it’s a betrayal of everything real conservation stands for.

🐻🌿 #StopTheBearHunt | www.sierraclub.org/florida/stopthebearhunt