Florida’s first black bear hunt in a decade has drawn an overwhelming 163,459 applications—but many of them may not be from hunters. According to the Orlando Sentinel, a significant portion of applicants were conservationists attempting to prevent the hunt by flooding the system.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is issuing just 172 hunting permits, giving each applicant roughly a 1-in-1,000 chance. But environmental groups, led by the Sierra Club, launched a campaign urging supporters to apply for permits with no intention of using them. Their goal: the more tags claimed by non-hunters, the fewer bears will be killed.
Dubbed “Bag a Tag, Spare a Bear,” the campaign included widely circulated how-to videos on applying. One instructional video received over 123,000 views, and organizers estimate tens of thousands of applications came from supporters of the movement. One particularly dedicated activist reportedly entered the lottery at least 800 times.
Outdoor Life estimates that more than 23% of the total applications may have originated from a single anti-hunting group. Despite their protest motives, these entries brought in more than $800,000 in permit fees for the state, as each application cost $5.
Applications were submitted by region, with the most interest focused on southwest Florida—the area where the state’s first fatal bear attack occurred in May. That incident likely intensified attention on the hunt. The best odds of securing a tag were reported in the Tallahassee region, while northern and panhandle zones remain strongholds for traditional hunters.
Hunters argue that activists won’t be able to dominate all zones, and FWC officials maintain the hunt is necessary to manage Florida’s growing bear population, now estimated to exceed 4,000. Conservationists, however, contend the hunt ignores scientific recommendations and widespread public opposition.