JACKSONVILLE— Amid a looming vote that could open Florida’s first black bear hunt in almost a decade, protesters from around the state are making their voices heard.

"We think these very intelligent sentient beings deserve to be respected and not be hunted just because someone wants some bragging rights,” said Adam Sugalski, executive director of One Protest, an animal and environmental rights advocacy group. “They're not helping the people; they're not saving people. They're going in because they want to hunt something.”

Sugalski is also the founder of Bear Defenders, one of the many grassroots campaigns of One Protest. The group is dedicated to protecting bear populations and advocating against trophy hunting. According to the FWC, approximately 4,050 black bears remain in the state, with Northeast Florida designated as a core area.

While Sugalski will be leading the way at Riverside, 10 additional locations will house protesters on Saturday, Aug. 9, including Tallahassee, Tampa, Fort Myers, Orlando, Sarasota, Palm Beach Gardens, Naples, Ocala and St. Augustine.

The demonstrations will take place just five days before the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission makes its final decision on the matter. Discussions on a potential bear hunt resurfaced in December of last year, when commissioners directed staff to develop proposed options for implementing a highly regulated hunt.

The FWC stated that staff presented three alternatives in May of this year, during which public comments were welcome.

Alternative 1 approved bear hunting permits and established permit quotas, while also defining bear hunting zones and a season. This option would also examine length and timing for the season, tagging and reporting requirements, as well as harvest and processing requirements. Alternative 2 includes everything in one; however, it adds the creation of a Private Lands Bear Harvest Program, bear hunting with dogs and taking of bears over game feeding stations. Commissioners could choose one or more of the options.

Alternative three saw no change in the current rule; however, commissioners could elect to set a quota or keep the harvest quota at zero.

Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve Alternative 2, with all three options. The final hearing will be held on Aug. 13 and 14 at their next meeting in Havana.

 If approved, changes will take effect during the 2025-2026 hunting season.

Sugalski, a passionate animal and environmental rights activist since his teenage years, launched the Stop the Florida Bear Hunt campaign back in 2015, which made headlines as he said it successfully put a halt to hunting.

The purpose of the last bear hunt was to stabilize Florida’s large, growing bear population, according to FWC.

Sugalski said that when One Protest staged their 18-city protest, they took the time to visit each checkpoint in Lake City. 

"We had people at all the different check stations taking pictures of bears and counting bears. So, they were supposed to kill 304 bears in a week; they reached that in 48 hours," he said. "They were killing bears so fast, and we had people calling in the numbers.

The following year, Sugalski stated that the board denied a bear hunt due to negative public pressure.  But this time, he said, it is different.

"It's coming from this top-down pressure. So, it's like their own biologists and scientists aren't really saying we need to hunt, but somebody up there wants a trophy hunt. The orders are coming from somewhere top-down, so it's very different this time."

Sugalski said he urges those opposed to the hunt to let their voices be heard. Although the ultimate decision is still pending, their mission is set.

“There are other steps we can take. It will be very disappointing. But it’s one of the things that you have to regroup and just keep going after it.”