Environmentalists plan to file suit today against the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission seeking to stop the state's first bear hunt in two decades. They say the hunt scheduled for October is unconstitutional.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Speak Up Wekiva plan to file suit in Leon County.Chuck O'Neal of the League of Women Voters of Florida also is part of the suit. He says the hunt is in conflict with the commission's constitutionally mandated mission for conservation.
"You have political appointees sitting on that commission that have an agenda, and their agenda is not preserving wildlife", said O'Neal. "Their agenda is expanding hunting opportunities in the state of Florida."
The hunt is aimed at reducing the state’s growing bear population by 320. Central Florida is home to the state’s largest population of bears. Permits go on sale Monday.