In the first official day of Florida's bear hunt, 207 bears were reported taken statewide, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. FWC set the statewide harvest objective at 320 bears.
Two of the state's four bear hunting districts, known as Bear Management Units, reached their quotas on Saturday and have suspended bear hunting.
The East Panhandle and Central BMUs are CLOSED to bear hunting. The North and South BMUs remain OPEN to bear hunting for Sunday, Oct. 25. — HuntFlorida (@HuntFloridaFWC) October 25, 2015
The South BMU, which includes parts of Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties, among others, is still open for hunting Sunday.
FWC will be releasing information on BMU closures around 9 p.m. Sunday. Hunters must verify that hunting is still open after each day of the hunt.
Hunters can learn of possible closures by calling the Bear Hunting Hotline toll free at 844-FWC-BEAR (844-392-2327) or by visiting MyFWC.com/Hunting
Local
Bear permits sold 3,778 bear permits during the 11 week sale period, totaling more than $376,900 in sales. FWC plans to use that money to help fund comprehesive waste management efforts in order to reach the end of human/bear conflicts.
