Florida black bears

“The Paper Bear” is a film shot in Northwest Florida with the mission to highlight the area's biodiversity. It is now available to watch on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

The Florida hunt exposed deep emotional divisions among animal rights activists and hunters. In social media forums and in dueling media interviews, the groups fiercely debated the morals and heritage of hunting, the science of bear biology and its ecosystem – arguing even about the Biblical aspects of whether God would approve.

After Florida's black bear hunt in December, conservationists could seek to add bears to the federal threatened species list.

Arguing that Florida’s decision to hold a bear hunt in December is not based on “sound” science and research, a conservation group this week asked a judge for an emergency temporary injunction to halt the hunt.

Florida's first bear hunt in a decade drew more than 160,000 applicants for just 172 permits.

A conservation group has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission from holding the state’s first bear hunt in a decade

Florida bear hunt proposal moves forward as Northwest Florida residents push back

Amid support from hunters and warnings of a “slaughter” from animal-rights advocates, state wildlife officials Wednesday moved forward with Florida’s first black bear hunt in a decade.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is considering yearly bear hunting season in Florida.

While urban bear encounters have increased in Florida, some fear a bear hunt could leave more dead than necessary.