On Friday, Nov. 14, the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation filed a friend of the court, or amicus curiae, brief opposing an extremist group’s attempt to halt Florida’s first bear hunt in 10 years.
Florida black bears have had a remarkable recovery. They were listed as a threatened species under the state’s equivalent of the Endangered Species Act from 1974-2012. The population has increased from roughly 500 to 4,000 in that timeframe.
After this recovery, a hunt was held in 2015. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) lobbied the governor to stop it. HSUS’ lobbying attempts were unsuccessful, and so was a lawsuit filed by Speak Up Wekiva, with support from the Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity. The hunt proceeded and 304 bears were harvested across the state’s four bear management units. The harvest quota was hit on the second day of the hunt, and the hunt was shut down accordingly. The controversy surrounding that early closure resulted in the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission not authorizing any hunts since then, despite keeping the option open when it approved the 2019 bear management plan.
In August 2025, the commission adopted a rule authorizing a hunt to begin December 6. Like the last hunt, that did not go unchallenged. An extremist group called Bear Warriors United has challenged the lawsuit and filed a motion to enjoin the hunt. The suit argues that the hunt is unsupported by science and the commission unconstitutionally delegated its authority to another branch of the government.
Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation filed a brief opposing that motion and supporting the hunt. The brief argues that hunt was lawfully authorized under the Florida Constitution, was supported by sufficient scientific data, and the plaintiffs have not shown that they will be irreparably harmed by the hunt, which prevents the court from issuing the preliminary injunction.
“Their claims don’t make any sense,” said Michael Jean, Litigation Counsel for Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “With the exception of the authority to set license fees and criminal penalties, the Florida Constitution gives the commission authority to manage wildlife, including authorizing hunts, and it also says that hunting is the ‘preferred’ method to manage wildlife. The commission did its due diligence. It considered the science and public opinion, and then unanimously authorized the hunt.”
The court will hold a hearing on the motion to stop the bear hunt later this month. We are hopeful that the hunt will proceed like it did a decade ago despite the opposition.
Sportsmen have been bullied long enough by animal extremists, and the Sportsmen’s Alliance will not allow it to happen any longer. Join us or donate to the Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund to help stand up against the relentless assault on our values and lifestyle by animal extremists. Present and future generations are depending on your willingness to fight to protect the future of hunting, fishing, and trapping.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance guarantees hunting, fishing and trapping for the American sportsman now and forever. We’re there when sportsmen need us most. We are the only organization specifically created to protect the individual hunter, angler and trapper – no matter the threat. We will never compromise when it comes to defending our way of life in the courts, in the legislatures, in the public square and at the ballot box. We make this promise to the American sportsman: we will never give up and never give in while proudly securing our future against those seeking to destroy our values, beliefs, and traditions. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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