The protests are timed to take place only days before the FWC is scheduled to vote August 13-14 on approving rules for a three-week bear hunt in December.

Supporters of the hunt have claimed that overpopulation of the bears has caused a nuisance in local communities and that a regulated hunt is needed to regulate their population. Black bear numbers have grown steadily after being classified as a “threatened” animal from 1974 to 2012 in the state. There are now an estimated 4,000 bears in Florida.