Florida is about to start its first black bear hunting season in 10 years

Black bear hunting by the numbers  

Florida is not an outlier. Of the at least 40 states with black bears, 35 allow them to be hunted.  

The number of black bears killed by hunters is “just jaw-dropping,” says Wendy Keefover, a senior principal of carnivore protection at Humane World. Our newly released report reveals that more than 1 million black bears were legally hunted in the U.S. between 2000 and 2024. An unknown number of cubs died during this timeframe after their mothers were killed by hunters. 

And black bear hunting is growing: In 2000, around 34,000 bears were hunted and killed compared to almost 50,000 in 2024.  

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*Alaska does not count all black bears hunted by residents, so its reported figure is an undercount.

Also shocking are the methods hunters use to kill bears, Keefover adds. Twenty states allow hunters to use dogs to track and chase black bears; 13 states allow “baiting,” where hunters lure bears to an area with piles of food; and seven states allow hunters to kill bears during springtime when some females have newly born cubs, the animals are lethargic and vulnerable after spending winter in their dens. 

In Alaska, home to an estimated 100,000 black bears, protections have fluctuated with changing federal administrations. In 2015, the National Park Service banned certain extreme hunting methods, including bear baiting and using artificial light to kill hibernating mother black bears and cubs in their dens in Alaska’s national preserves. That rule was reversed in 2020, a decision we sued the federal government over. While the Biden Administration reinstated the ban on bear baiting, in January of this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order effectively directing NPS to once again allow baiting of brown and black bears in Alaska’s national preserves.  

Why black bears are coming to town 

These hostilities are not new. Humans have shaped the lives of black bears for centuries, often through indiscriminate killing.  

After European colonists arrived in America, they hunted black bears in massive numbers and converted vast swaths of forests into farmland. By the start of the 1900s, black bear populations reached a likely low point. Strong legal protections have helped the bruins slowly recover.  

But bears today are struggling to fit into a world much different than it was centuries ago. Black bears have lost much of their natural habitat to human development. They often have to cross highways, suburbs and parks while foraging, finding mates and raising their young. Vehicle collisions are a growing threat.

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Pushed closer to people and driven by their incredibly strong sense of smell, bears are learning that human spaces are full of easily accessible food sources.

While bears generally prefer to forage on natural foods such as berries and nuts, these foods are becoming less abundant due to climate change-induced weather events and other factors. Human-bear conflicts tend to increase in bad foraging years. And as our winters get hotter, some bears are hibernating less or forgoing it completely. Awake in winter when natural food is scarce, bears are entering towns and getting into more conflicts with people. 

Most conflicts between humans and black bears involve indirect issues such as bears getting into bird feeders, backyard chicken flocks or garbage cans, data from state wildlife agencies show. It’s incredibly rare for a black bear to seriously injure or kill a human. Still, conflicts can become a problem. State wildlife officials often turn to hunting as a solution. 

“We hear it a lot [from] states that we have to hunt bears in order to reduce conflicts,” says Keefover. But sound science just does not support that belief, she adds. In states where hunters are allowed to bait bears with food, hunting can actually increase the rate of conflicts.  

Because hunting does not address the root causes of human-bear conflicts, incidents will continue to occur as long as bears are attracted to human settlements, Keefover and other wildlife management experts say. 

Bears at risk in the Sunshine State 

Another common argument Keefover hears is that hunting helps prevent bears from becoming overpopulated. 

Florida’s black bear population hit a low of a few hundred individuals in the 1970s. The population has been slowly growing since then. State officials estimate that 4,050 black bears now live in the state, but Keefover warns this number is based on decade-old data. “Basically, Florida doesn't have a good idea of what their bear population is statewide.”

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

This bar graph from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shows the number of bears killed throughout Florida by either road, management, illegal, hunting (what the commission calls "harvest"), or other causes of death from 2005 to 2024, totaling 5,967 bears.

These bears are scattered across small subpopulations hemmed in by habitat loss and urban sprawl. They can’t easily intermingle—vehicle collisions cause the vast majority of bear deaths in the state—and Keefover worries these isolated groups don’t have enough genetic diversity.

Adding black bear hunting on top of these existing threats could jeopardize Florida’s bear population, MacFall says.  In fact, she adds, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission already had to reduce the 2025 hunting quota by 15 bears following a population study of one of the state’s black bear subpopulations. 

The situation probably isn’t going to get easier for Florida bears. Not only is Florida the third most populous state, it also has the fastest-growing population according to the 2022 U.S. Census. At over 23 million residents today, Florida is expected to expand to almost 34 million by 2070.  

Construction and human development are rampant in the state, says MacFall. “It's out of control. Bear habitat is being deteriorated as we speak. And then [people] wonder, ‘Oh, these bears are in the neighborhoods?’ Well, yeah, of course they are.” 

The inherent cruelty in black bear hunting 

In addition to concerns about how hunting will harm the future of Florida’s black bear population, MacFall is also horrified by the methods hunters are allowed to use. Under the rules approved in 2025, hunters can lure bears onto private land with piles of natural foods, use bows and arrows to kill bears, and, starting in 2027, use up to six dogs to track and chase bears.  

 “Floridians are already upset that black bears will be hunted but allowing bears to be chased by packs of dogs is particularly cruel,” says MacFall. “And according to our poll, 89% of Floridians oppose hounding.”  

Hunters using “hounding” dogs send a pack of GPS-collared canines into the woods to find and chase black bears. Bears can be forced to run from dogs for hours on end before they finally climb up a tree for safety. Hunters then come in for an easy shot.  

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It’s not just the targeted bears who suffer. Dogs can kill other animals such as bear cubs or be killed themselves, especially when baiting is also allowed. Bait stations encourage wild animals to congregate into an area, Keefover explains. Wild animals may fight each other over the food or attack hunting dogs who come into the area.  

Hunting bears with archery equipment can also expose them to needless suffering. “It's really hard to kill a bear with a bow and arrow because they've got really thick hides, thick bones, and you have to get a clean shot,” Keefover says. “One must target a vital organ to kill the bear. And so, if hunters don't do that, the bear can just run off and then die of blood loss.” 

Bill Lea/Bill Lea Photography

Mother black bear nursing her two cubs.

A peaceful future with bears 

Florida’s 2025 bear hunting season starts next month. MacFall says it’s heartbreaking to think about. But she’s encouraged by all the Floridians who have advocated for the bears and the communities that are implementing strategies to peacefully coexist with their wild neighbors.  

One such community, Seminole County passed an ordinance in December 2015 requiring residents to secure trash from bears. That year, residents made nearly 700 complaints about bears. By 2024, that number dwindled to 308. 

Measures such as these are “so doable,” says MacFall. They also represent the values of the many people who live alongside bears and want to keep them protected. After the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced its plan to reopen black bear hunting, it received more than 13,000 comments. Around 75% of them opposed the plan. 

“Floridians really, really love their black bears,” says MacFall. “We'll always continue fighting for bears.”