00:00Florida is slated to hold its first black bear hunt in a decade this December.
00:05It was approved Wednesday by the State Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission unanimously.
00:12The move comes despite opposition to the hunt from animal welfare advocates.
00:17They contend it is cruel and unnecessary due to its allowance of bait and dogs in hunts.
00:24State wildlife officials, however, say they made the move based on science.
00:28Hunters in favor of the change point to rising instances of bear and human interactions,
00:34and the state's first documented death due to a bear attack earlier this year, as reported by CBS News.
00:41Environmentalists say it's not the bear's fault human infrastructure is encroaching on bears' natural habitat.
00:48They also expressed concerns after a 2015 hunt in which more than 300 black bears were killed, including 38 females with cubs.
00:57The hunt was subsequently shut down early.
01:00That hunt gave permits to anyone who could afford one.
01:03This hunt is different.
01:05State officials will only allow 187 permits based on a random drawing.
01:10FWC officials say there are around 4,000 black bears in the state.
01:15This hunt will go from December 6th through the 28th.
01:18Permits cost $100 for state residents and $300 for non-residents.
01:22Landowners who have more than 5,000 acres can set up a so-called bear harvest program
01:28and are allowed to set up bait stations on their property.
01:32Officials say they're looking into allowing a bear hunting season in the future
01:35that will run from October 1st through December 31st.
01:39That's pending further studies.
01:41But they say it may eventually lead to six dogs being allowed in the hunts.
01:45For more unbiased updates, download the Straight Arrow News app or go to san.com.
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