1,200 Florida Bear Hunting Permits Sold in Two Days, Tensions Escalate

By Patriot Outdoor News

Though it’s unclear what effect the lawsuit will have on Florida’s license sales or the planned hunt dates, Eggeman says the FWC plans to continue to sell the licenses, which are $100 for residents and $300 for nonresidents, unless the courts say otherwise.

Despite efforts to stop Florida’s first bear hunt in more than 20 years, wildlife officials say the state sold nearly 1,200 bear hunting licenses in just the first two days of availability. According to a story from the Daytona Beach News Journal, because there’s no limit on the number of available licenses, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) officials expect sales will continue to climb right up to the opening of the state’s first seven-day bear-hunting season, on October 24. The hunt will be the first bear hunt in Florida in decades.

The state’s bear population once numbered only a few hundred, but it in recent years it has since ballooned to more than 3,000, concurrently increasing the number of bear-human conflicts in the state. Earlier this year, despite vocal opposition from some residents, wildlife officials approved a fall hunting season to help reduce the number of bruins and plans to allow hunters to cull up to 320 …read more

Source:: Patriot Outdoor News