Florida is less than a week into its 2025 Black Bear Hunt, but we still don’t know how many bears have been harvested, or even if any hunters have bagged a single bear yet.
When News 6 asked the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for an update on the number of bears harvested on Monday, a spokesperson said we were told we needed to file a public records request for any data queries.
News 6 has filed that request with the state and is waiting to hear back. We have also asked FWC why the agency has not posted public updates on the bear hunt yet. We are waiting to hear back.
[WATCH: Florida bear hunt begins amid controversy and protests]
FWC allocated 172 permits to allow for bear hunting for the first time in 10 years. Only one bear is allowed per permit.
In 2015, FWC allocated thousands of permits, but stopped the hunt after two days and about 300 bears killed.
Part of the reason may have to do with the difference in how the bear hunt is being run this year.
In 2015, hunters needed to bring their takings to public FWC check-in stations to be registered and weighed.
This year, hunters have 24 hours after their hunt to report their harvest to FWC, and to arrange a time and location to meet and go over their kill.
The state said it decided to conduct the hunt this way because it was more efficient, according to the FWC bear hunt website.
The state also says it released a much smaller number of permits, so hunters have more time to be selective, allowing the season to last longer.
The hunt is also controversial. People packed FWC meetings this year to fight the hunt. Activists filed suit in court.
[WATCH: Non-hunters snagged at least 44 Florida bear hunt permits, records show]
“They should release them every day and tell us what is going on, how many bears have been killed and where, and all of that,” said Debby Stevens, who is against Florida’s bear hunt. “They should really share information.”
While Stevens wants to see the information, Seminole County resident Ramona Jones said she doesn’t want to know.
“To be honest, I really don’t want to know. I honestly don’t want to know because it’s just going to upset me, and that’s the way I feel about it,” Jones said.
Stevens thought the bear hunt would have been over by now.
“I thought for sure that we would have already heard that it was over because they get them so quickly,” Stevens said. “I mean, there’s a lot of bears around.”
Meanwhile, groups like Bear Warriors United and the Sierra Club sponsored entries into the permit lottery for non-hunters in the hopes of reducing the number of bears killed.
Bear Warriors United also says it is offering permit holders $2,000 if they agree in writing not to hunt.
A count conducted in 2015 found approximately 4,050 bears in Florida. FWC says studies show an annual growth rate ranging from 2.2% in the central Bear Management Unit, which includes much of our area, to 15.4% in the north BMU, including the Jacksonville area west to Suwannee and Hamilton counties.
Scientists are working on a new population study, but results will not be available until 2029.
“Once they get the numbers in, then hopefully we won’t kill more bears than we realize that we were after -- or they were after, not us,” Stevens said.
To learn details about the bear hunt, including what bears can be killed, what weapons can be used, and where hunters can hunt, check out this story on ClickOrlando.com.