FL Black Bear Mtg-5/21/25 Ocala 8:30a-

Join us in Ocala on Wed May 21st at the FWC Commission meeting and speak up for Florida’s black bears!
The meeting begins at 8:30 am on May 21st and 22nd. Black bears will be on the agenda on Wednesday May 21st and the meeting runs for two days.

• We are asking Florida advocates to attend and speak briefly & politely to the commissioners and ask that they NOT proceed with a bear hunt. Floridians love black bears and do not support a trophy hunt of our iconic subspecies. With massive development, habitat loss, and vehicle strikes the last thing our bears need is to be chased down by hunters.
• The time allowed for each public speaker will undoubtedly be shortened because of the number of speakers; even a 30 second comment urging the commissioners not to proceed with a bear hunt would be very helpful.
• Day of: speakers check in with FWC staff members upon arrival and register to speak on the black bear agenda item.
• Black bears need your voice- please join us in Ocala on May 21st! Please reach out with any questions….

Additional Information from FWC: https://myfwc.com/hunting/bear/
The FWC hosted 3 webinars on the proposed options regarding a black bear hunt and you can listen to one of the recordings here: https://vimeo.com/1073539169 To be clear, a bear hunt is not imminent- a NO hunt at all is an option and we are urging the commissioners to choose this option.
FWC
1239 SW 10th St, Ocala, FL 34471
(352) 732-1225