FWC officials vote against holding a black bear hunt this year

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida wildlife officials have voted against holding a black bear hunt this year at their quarterly meeting.

After nearly seven hours of comments Wednesday from staff and the public, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted 4-3 against a 2016 hunt. They also voted to have staff gather more information so that they could vote again next year on whether to hold a 2017 hunt.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission listened to four proposals during a Wednesday meeting in Eastpoint, which is in the Florida Panhandle.

Commission staff recommended a hunt broken into three, four-day periods, where hunters would apply for permits on a first-come, first-served basis for specific dates and areas.

They also hearD proposals that include holding another hunt that has the same rules as last year, not holding another hunt until 2017 or putting a hunt off indefinitely.

Last year, hunters killed 304 bears in the state’s first hunt in more than 20 years. Opponents of bear hunting held 28 protests around the state last weekend.