ORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission started selling permits for bear hunting Monday, despite a legal challenge to the hunt.
The permits, which cost $100 for Florida residents and $300 for nonresidents, are valid during the last week in October and can be purchased online, in tax collector offices or in some sporting goods stores.
Wildlife officials said the goal of the hunt is to help manage the state's bear population.
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Dane Shaffer, of Sorrento, has been hunting deer and hogs all his life, but never a bear.
"To hunt bears would be a new challenge for me," he said.
Shaffer is one of the many across the state who signed up for the special bear hunting permit.
After 20 years, the FWC is allowing about 200 bears to be hunted in order to stabilize the bear population in Florida.
"We are going to be keeping daily tallies after the first two days by the Bear Management Unit on the numbers harvested so once the unit's harvest objective is achieved, then the season will close on that unit," said Diane Eggeman of the FWC.
But an advocacy group last week filed a lawsuit in Tallahassee, challenging the hunt.
The lawsuit filed by Speak Up Wekiva claimed the hunt violates an amendment to the Florida constitution that requires the state to make adequate provisions to protect its natural resources.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Susan Smith said the agency has not yet been served with the lawsuit and has no backup plan to refund those who have bought licenses if the group is able to stop the hunt.
Laura Bevan with the Humane Society said the hunt is unnecessary and that the science isn't there to support it.
"We are really worried it's going to be a slaughter house and that the mother and the cubs, inexperienced hunters will be killing mothers that they don't know because they haven't dealt with bear before," she said. "We just think the whole thing is a farce."
According to the state, as of 3 p.m. Monday more than 600 permits had been sold.