SWFL.io - Local NewsWINK Digital Team
•8/31/2026
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WINK) — Florida will make more bear-hunting permits available this year than it did for the state’s 2025 hunt.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is offering up to 215 permits for the 2026 hunt. Of those, 193 will be available through a random drawing. Hunters can submit applications beginning Sept. 11, with each application costing $5.
The remaining 22 permits will be available to qualifying private landowners with large properties that have documented bear populations.
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The state made 172 permits available for the 2025 hunt, which was Florida’s first state-sanctioned bear hunt since 2015. Hunters killed 52 bears during the 23-day hunt in December.
The 2026 hunt is scheduled for Dec. 5 through Dec. 27 in four regions of the state.
Opponents of the hunt have encouraged people who do not intend to hunt to apply for permits. The strategy was intended to reduce the number of bears killed during the hunt.
The agency received 163,459 applications from 14,996 people for last year’s hunt. FWC officials warned that if opponents obtained permits and did not use them, the agency could increase the number of permits available in future hunts.
“This year, we will be working to spare even more bears, and we'll hope that you join us,” the Sierra Club Florida said in a fact sheet about the 2026 hunt.
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Supporters of the hunt say it could help manage Florida’s bear population as interactions between bears and people increase. They also point to a 2024 voter-approved constitutional amendment that established a right to hunt and fish in Florida.
Opponents question whether hunting will reduce conflicts between bears and people and support nonlethal methods for managing bear populations. The Sierra Club Florida has described the new permitting system as “an exclusive, privatized trophy hunt system.”
Applications for the 2026 hunt will be accepted from Sept. 11 through Sept. 21.
People selected in the drawing will have from Sept. 25 through Oct. 5 to pay for their permits. The permits are nontransferable and cost $100 for Florida residents and $300 for nonresidents.
Nonresidents are limited to 10% of the permits.
Any permits that are not claimed will be offered in additional drawings. The second round will run from Oct. 9 through Oct. 19, followed by a third round from Oct. 23 through Nov. 2.
The state is dividing the hunt into four regions:
East Panhandle: 78 permits. The zone includes the Apalachicola Wildlife Management Area and parts of Bay, Washington, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Franklin, Liberty, Gadsden, Leon, Wakulla and Jefferson counties.
North: 31 permits. The zone runs along the Florida-Georgia line, includes the Osceola Wildlife Management Area and parts of Hamilton, Suwannee, Columbia, Union and Baker counties.
Central: 21 permits. The zone includes the Ocala Wildlife Management Area and parts of Sumter, Marion, Alachua, Bradford, Clay, Putnam, Lake, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Flagler and St. Johns counties.
South: 63 permits. The zone includes parts of Lee, Hendry and Collier counties but does not include the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area.
Another 22 permits will be available to qualifying private landowners in the four hunt regions.
Eligible properties must include at least 5,000 contiguous acres and have a bear management plan developed by a certified wildlife biologist.
At least five bears must be documented on a property for it to qualify for a permit. Larger properties can qualify for additional permits based on their size and the number of documented bears.
