The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources says the state’s third annual black bear hunt begins Saturday in three eastern Kentucky counties. The hunt will be held in Harlan, Letcher and Pike counties and will last a maximum of two days.
The harvest will be limited to ten bears total or five female bears.
If the quota has not been reached by 9:00pm on Saturday, the hunt will continue into Sunday. Hunters must call an information line to keep track of the harvest.
A century-long ban on black bear hunting was lifted in 2009 after officials determined that the eastern Kentucky bear population was sufficiently abundant to sustain a limited hunt.
Heavy snowfall during the first two years of the hunt limited the harvest to two male bears. This year’s hunt was moved up one week.
