TALLAHASSEE, FL (#WTXLDigital) - The controversial Florida black bear hunt is scheduled to being on October 24 and while many Floridians are aware that the hunt is taking place, some may not know about the many rules hunters will be expected to follow.
WTXL took a look at the rules for the East Panhandle bear management unit (BMU) which covers Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla and Washington counties.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says that the harvest objective for these 13 counties is 40 bears, which means the East Panhandle BMU has the smallest number of targeted bears compared to the other 3 BMUs in the state.
And not all of the hunters that will be in the area will be allowed to use guns to hunt the bears either. There are actually 10 Wildlife Management Areas in the East Panhandle BMU where hunters can only use archery tools during the bear hunt, including the Wakulla Wildlife Management Area and Tate's Hell Womack Creek Unit.
The East Panhandle BMU has the largest number of individual Wild Life Management Units participating in the hunt.
Hunters who make a kill won't get to immediately start heading home. Bears who are killed must be taken to one of the 16 check stations within 12 hours of taking the bear.
You can read the full list of bear hunting rules from FWC by clicking here.
