Activists Now Paying Hunters $2,000 Not to Hunt as Judge Confirms Florida’s Bear Season Will Proceed

Florida’s first black bear hunt in a decade will begin on December 6, after a Leon County Circuit judge refused to block the season—setting the stage for an intense showdown between hunters, wildlife managers, and anti-hunting groups now resorting to cash payouts and surveillance tactics to undermine the hunt.

The ruling came down just minutes before Tampa Bay News went live, with anchors announcing:

“Florida’s black bear hunt will go on as scheduled… The judge is refusing to stop the hunt, which will be the first in the state in 10 years.”

The hunt allows for up to 172 bears to be harvested across four management zones.

But instead of accepting the decision, the activist group Bear Warriors United (BWU) has launched an unprecedented effort: offering hunters $2,000 each to not use their bear tags.

A $2,000 Cash Offer to Undermine the Hunt

BWU first announced its “Black Friday Bear Deal” on Nov. 28, offering $1,000 to any hunter who agreed not to hunt. Two days later, an anonymous donor doubled the offer to $2,000.

Their official statement reads:

“Each hunter who was issued a black bear killing [sic] permit… AND agrees to not use the permit AND not kill a Florida Black Bear will now receive $2,000.”

BWU director Katrina Shadix says she has already heard from more than 20 tag-holding hunters willing to take the payout.

Some hunters have reportedly told her, “I could use that money for my family.”

Shadix says she is vetting these hunters and forwarding their information to the donor’s attorney, who is drafting contracts prohibiting them from using, selling, or transferring their tags.

Judge Rejects the Emergency Motion to Stop the Hunt

The payout plan came immediately after BWU lost a major legal challenge.

In a virtual hearing streamed across state media, BWU attorney Thomas Crapps urged the judge to halt the hunt:

FWC made its decision “based on outdated and stale population information and models.”

But FWC and its attorneys pushed back hard.
During the broadcast, the state’s attorney responded bluntly:

“This becomes Bear Warriors whining about what they did not get… They didn’t get what they wanted, because they didn’t want a bear hunt.”

Ultimately, Judge Angela Dempsey sided with the state:

“The plaintiff has not met their burden on substantial likelihood of success on the merits.”

She noted that the 2025 hunt is “significantly more conservative” than the 2015 season, which harvested nearly 300 bears in only two days.

FWC Defends Its Scientific Approach

Inside the November hearing, much of the debate focused on science and population data.

FWC bear biologist Mike Orlando defended the agency’s long-standing management approach. When pressed on why the state didn’t wait for new studies before authorizing the hunt, he replied:

“Because we will never have new data. It will always be old… We have to be adaptive. That’s management 101.”

The FWC argues that the four major bear subpopulations have shown annual growth since 2015 and that the estimate of 4,050 bears statewide supports a limited, regulated hunt.

FWC attorney Rhonda Parnell told the court:

“The science is sound… Bears have always been a game animal.”

The agency also warned that allowing courts to overrule biological management decisions would threaten its constitutional authority and affect conservation for other species.

Activists Are Mobilizing: Cameras, Tag-Buyouts, and Appeals

BWU has made it clear that the judge’s ruling is only one setback.

Shadix says activists have already installed 900 to 1,000 cellular trail cameras on both public and private land to “monitor activity” during the hunt.

“Everyone’s going to be watching from their phones,” she said.

BWU also confirmed plans to challenge the ruling through additional legal motions as the season begins. News outlets reported:

“Bear Warriors United still has a chance to appeal the judge’s decision.”

Anti-hunting groups are celebrating the number of tags already neutralized—between activists, non-hunting permit holders, and now BWU’s $2,000 payouts.

Chuck O’Neal of Speak Up for Wildlife told WKMG that at least 52 of the 172 tags may now go unused, potentially reducing the number of bears taken to about 120 or fewer.

The Hunt Will Proceed — and the State Says It’s About Public Safety

Supporters of the hunt say it’s not political—it’s practical.

FWC and many residents cite years of rising bear–human encounters, property damage, and growing risk of attacks. The agency has emphasized that the hunt is designed to be:

• short-term,
• limited,
• biologically conservative,
• tightly managed across four zones.

For hunters across Florida, the message is now officially clear: The bear hunt will happen.

But it will unfold under intense scrutiny, political pressure, and an activist campaign unlike anything the state has seen before—one that includes trail-camera surveillance and direct financial incentives to stop hunters from using their own legally issued permits.

The hunt runs December 6–28, unless individual zones reach their quota earlier.

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