Florida’s 2025 Black Bear Hunt: Results, Resistance, and a Tightly Managed Return

Florida’s first statewide black bear hunt in a decade wrapped on December 28, 2025, following a three-week season (Dec. 6–28) that FWC framed as a carefully regulated, science-guided management hunt; not the high-volume, fast-moving scenario many Floridians remember from 2015.

How many bears were harvested?

FWC’s initial results show 52 bears harvested during the 2025 season. Agency updates note that harvested bears were physically checked by FWC staff and bear response contractors, with data analysis underway and a fuller harvest report expected later.

The hunt was built around a limited permit structure: 172 permits were issued through a random drawing, and each permit allowed the harvest of one bear within designated hunt zones.

The major setback: “permit buy-ups” and protest strategy

One of the most unusual and consequential headwinds this season wasn’t weather, access, or even participation. It was organized opposition aimed directly at the permit system.

Multiple advocacy groups and opponents encouraged non-hunters to apply for (and secure) permits with no intention of using them, effectively pulling tags out of circulation and reducing the number of active hunters in the field.

That strategy became a central talking point around the hunt: supporters called it an attempt to undermine a lawful wildlife-management tool, while opponents viewed it as a legal, peaceful method to “save bears” inside the rules as written.

Controversy stayed loud.. even with tighter rules

Despite the smaller scale compared to 2015, the 2025 hunt remained one of the most debated wildlife decisions in Florida this year. National and state coverage highlighted intense public opposition, questions about transparency and oversight, and ongoing disagreement about whether hunting is necessary to address bear-human conflicts.

From FWC’s perspective, the season’s controlled structure- limited permits, restricted zones, and post-harvest biological checks; was designed to keep the hunt measured and data-driven. Opponents, meanwhile, argued that conflict mitigation should focus more heavily on habitat pressures, attractant management, and non-lethal responses.

What 2025 will likely be remembered for

Regardless of where readers land on the issue, the 2025 hunt will be remembered for two headline realities:

1. A modest harvest total: 52 bears taken under a tightly limited permit count.

2. A rare “inside-the-system” protest tactic: opponents actively acquiring permits to reduce participation—an unusual twist that shaped the season’s on-the-ground outcome and the statewide narrative.

As Florida continues wrestling with growing bear populations, expanding development, and public tolerance for different management tools, the 2025 bear hunt may serve as a template, or a warning, depending on what the forthcoming harvest report and policy debates show next.