SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 Next week, Florida\u2019s first bear hunt in a decade is set to begin. <\/p>\n
While activists presented their arguments to stop the hunt in court on Monday, some also tried to protect the bears by buying up dozens of available hunting licenses.<\/p>\n
Our News 6 team submitted a public records request to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to find out how many people applied, how many entries they submitted, and who actually got a permit for the bear hunt. <\/p>\n
We were provided a list of thousands of names from all over Florida, and compared the 318,533 with established hunting licenses in the state with the 19,040 applications for the bear hunt. <\/p>\n
[WATCH: Florida bear hunt approved. Here\u2019s what\u2019s next]<\/p>\n
For the 2025 season, FWC only sold 172 permits \u2014 the total number of bears that could be harvested in one of the four zones across the state from Dec. 6 through Dec. 28.<\/p>\n
Applicants were allowed to submit as many entries as they wanted for $5 each to increase their chances of getting selected through a lottery system. <\/p>\n
Our team discovered 44 people who were selected for the bear hunt likely have permits that will go unused. <\/p>\n
Chuck O\u2019Neal, President of Speak Up For Wildlife, estimates more than 50 people have snagged permits and don\u2019t plan to hunt a bear. <\/p>\n
\u201cBy the time it\u2019s all over with, we\u2019ve got at least 52 of the 172, which will reduce the number of bears killed down to about 120 or less,\u201d said O\u2019Neal. <\/p>\n
[WATCH: Conservation group sues Florida over bear hunt plan, says it limits public input]<\/p>\n
Advocates against the bear hunt tried to flood the lottery system with applications in order to obtain permits this season, one of their strategies to protest the hunt. O\u2019Neal said he bought about 251 \u2014 at $5 each \u2014 but was not personally selected. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are people who bought one ticket, and there are people who bought two tickets, five tickets,\u201d said O\u2019Neal. \u201cYou can improve your odds, but you can never outwit Lady Luck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Records obtained by News 6 show that out of all the applicants, four people each bought 400 entries \u2014 the most out of the entire list. It appears three out of those four top applicants did, in fact, get selected for the 2025 bear hunt season. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Tallahassee on Monday, Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey heard arguments from attorneys for Bear Warriors United and from the FWC in the bear hunt lawsuit.<\/p>\n
Bear Warriors United argues the hunt is not based on sound science, using outdated population data and models.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this hunt is allowed to go forward before there is a full hearing concerning the FWC\u2019s actions, it will cause irreparable harm to the bear populations,\u201d said attorney Thomas Crapps.<\/p>\n
FWC, however, disagrees. Their attorneys argue the bear hunt is necessary to slow the population growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the same science that they rely on. They come to a different conclusion than we do, but that doesn\u2019t change the fact that the underlying science is still valid science,\u201d said FWC attorney Rhonda Parnell.<\/p>\n
The FWC estimates there are 4,050 black bears in Florida, which is based on data from 2014 to 2015. <\/p>\n
Scientists are working on a new population study, but results will not be available until 2029.<\/p>\n