Florida’s first black bear hunt in a decade is officially set to move forward after a unanimous vote by the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) on Wednesday morning, despite opposition from animal rights groups.
The regulated hunt will take place over 23 days in December this year.
The vote occurred at the end of a hearing with over an hour of public testimony in the Panhandle city of Havana, a suburb of the state’s capital of Tallahassee, where both supporters and opposers of the hunt argued their case.
Supporters of the hunt have claimed that overpopulation of the bears has caused a nuisance in local communities and that a regulated hunt is needed to regulate their population. Black bear numbers have grown steadily after being classified as a “threatened” animal from 1974 to 2012 in the state. There are now an estimated 4,000 bears in Florida.
Read more: Research Shows Just How Much Hunting Reduces Animal Populations
The decision comes after preliminary approval that was given in May—the same month that Florida saw its first fatal black bear attack in Florida—the mauling of 89-year-old Robert Markel in the unincorporated town of Collier County in Jerome, Florida. In the days following the attack, three black bears were killed in the area. Florida has not held an official bear hunt, though, since 2015, where more than 300 bears were killed in 48 hours—including mothers and cubs—leading to the hunt being halted.
Environmentalists have opposed the hunt, arguing that one bear attack does not justify a cull—nor does the population growth—and that the rule will reinstate “trophy” killings of the animals. One advocate during the meeting called the hunt “unnecessary and cruel.” Other advocates argued that the hunt could open the door to further destruction of animal habitats in Florida. Wildlife group Bear Warriors United filed an 11th-hour lawsuit on Tuesday evening against the FWC, hoping to stop the hunt.
More than 150 people attended Wednesday’s vote, with hunting advocates wearing orange and those in opposition to the hunt wearing black. Some wore outfits with slogans including “Stop the Bear Hunt” and “Protect Animals.”
The FWC will decide who is able to hunt by holding a lottery for the 187 available permits, and hunters will be permitted to use both archery and guns, including rifles, pistols, shotguns, and muzzleloaders. The vote will also eventually allow for luring bears with food traps and the use of trained hounds.
“Slowing population growth will help balance population numbers with suitable habitat, and hunting is an important and effective tool that is used to manage wildlife populations across the world,” the commission, which voted 5-0 in approving the reinstated hunt, wrote on its website following the vote. “While we have enough suitable bear habitat to support our current bear population levels, if the four largest subpopulations continue to grow at current rates, we will not have enough habitat at some point in the future.”
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