TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — For 21 years, it's been illegal to hunt a bear in Florida. That may change this fall.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meets this week to decide whether to give tentative approval to rules for a revival of bear hunting, banned since 1994.
If commissioners give the proposed rules a green light, then a final vote would come at their June meeting.
The rules proposed by the wildlife agency staff say the bear hunt would last just one week, from Oct. 24 to 30, and only in daytime hours. Also, each hunter would be permitted to bag one bear per hunting season. Florida hunters would pay $100 for a permit, and out-of-state hunters $300.
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Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com.