Florida black bear hunt canceled for 2016

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently voted to hold off on this year’s black bear hunt. Last year, the state’s first bear hunt in 21 years — as part of a black bear management plan — resulted in 304 harvested bears. The commission, which voted 4-3 in favor of delaying the hunt for at least one year, noted that the hunt did not go as smoothly as planned last year when the hunt, which was supposed to last for a week, ended after two days because it came close to the established harvest objective of 320 bears. The FWC plans to gather more information about the state’s bear population before considering the hunt again for future years. Read more at Jacksonville.com.