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FLORIDA ( WESH ) -- For the first time in more than a decade, hunters took to Florida's forests in search of black bears as part of the 2025 Florida black bear hunt.

The hunt has been hotly contested, pitting animal advocates and significant public outcry against the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and hunting groups.

Starting Saturday and running through December 28, a total of 172 permits were given to would-be hunters to cull the population of black bears in the state.

Of those 172 permits, bear advocates claim to have secured 52 in the lottery system in an attempt to reduce the number of bears killed.

"The people who approved the hunt were political appointees, that's why we were calling on Governor DeSantis to step in and s

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