Florida’s first black bear hunt since 2015 is set to open in December, and activists are buying up bear tags in hopes of saving the bruins.

Anti-hunting groups are encouraging people enter the lottery-style drawing for 187 bear tags in Florida.

The Sierra Club of Florida launched its "Bag a Tag, Save a Bear" campaign this month urging supporters to buy up all the tags.

"Now through Sept. 22, let’s buy up all the bear tags and keep them OUT of hunters’ hands," the organization said on X (formerly Twitter).

The tags cost $100 for residents and $300 for non-residents.

Similarly, when Wyoming was on the cusp of a grizzly hunting season in 2018, wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen entered the 18-tag lottery and drew a grizzly tag. He planned to hunt grizzlies with a camera, not a rifle.

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