The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is holding more Virtual Public Meetings on the proposed Florida black bear hunt this Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. They are using this information to create bear hunting proposals that will be presented to the FWC Commissioners at their May meeting in Ocala. For those who attended previous sessions, you know that comments in opposition to the bear hunt are suppressed. Participating and submitting your comments opposing a bear hunt and against specific hunting methods, weapons, seasons, etc, is still important. Remember, even if you don't see your comments being posted, they are recorded and will become public records.

The meeting dates and times are as follows:

• April 2 from 12 – 3 p.m. EDT

• April 3 from 5 – 8 p.m. EDT

• April 5 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. EDT

Click here to attend individual virtual public meetings. 

In addition to attending the virtual meetings, please complete the calls to action below and stay tuned for more updates, including information about the upcoming Florida Black Bear Rally on May 4, 2025.

Please email the FWC Commissioners and submit comments to the designated Bear Comments email. All emails will become part of the public record, so please ensure your message is respectful.

You may simply state: "I OPPOSE ANY FUTURE FLORIDA BEAR HUNTS."

Alternatively, you can provide a detailed message expressing your concerns. 

Suggested Email Subject Line

"I OPPOSE BEAR HUNTING IN FLORIDA"

Bear Comments Email:

BearComments@MyFWC.com

Contact the FWC Commissioners directly (emails formatted for easy copy & paste are below).

Copy and paste into the BCC section of your email.

Rodney.Barreto@myfwc.com, Steven.Hudson@myfwc.com, Preston.Farrior@myfwc.com, Sonya.Rood@myfwc.com, Albert.Maury@myfwc.com, Gary.Nicklaus@myfwc.com, Gary.Lester@myfwc.com

Make plans to attend the FWC Public Meetings in Ocala on May 21st and 22nd and arrive early to sign up to speak in opposition to the bear hunt.

Click here for the location and details.