Despite emotional pleas from animal-rights advocates, Florida wildlife officials on Wednesday approved a 23-day black bear hunt in December that could result in up to 187 bears being killed. It will be the state’s first sanctioned bear hunt in more than a decade.

Florida wildlife officials voted Wednesday to approve the state's first black bear hunt since 2015. The big picture: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission proposed the new hunt last year after wildlife experts said the state's bear population — estimated to be about 4,000 in 2015 — was healthy enough for a hunt.