STAND AGAINST BOW HUNTING IN 3 EASY STEPS
1. Click the green button below
2. Enter your postcode
3. Submit the pre-written letter or write your own
Arrows are for targets, not animals. RSPCA South Australia believes there is no justification for bow-hunting. Using an inaccurate, inhumane killing method when more humane methods exist is not acceptable.
Animals shot using bows and arrows suffer extensive tissue and organ damage, remaining conscious and suffering from severe pain until they bleed to death. Many wounded animals also escape after being struck by the barbed arrows hunters use, and die slowly from starvation, infection or predation. Deer hunting surveys show that deer hit by arrows escape injured far more frequently than those shot with rifles.1
Whether an animal is considered wild, feral or pest, it is sentient – if killing is justified, all animals deserve a humane death. This is what our community expects.
The science shows that for most species, the most humane killing method, that causes instant death, is ground shooting with a firearm (shot to the head, within a monitored program), by a competent shooter.
Extra regulation will not make bows more accurate or humane.
A quote from a 2005 guide for bow hunters stated:
‘If harvesting an animal is your top priority, you shouldn’t be hunting with a bow. Bow hunting is a low percentage affair. You’ve made the choice to use a weapon that makes hunting more difficult.’ [2]
Using an inhumane killing method when more humane methods exist cannot be justified.
Research shows that animals hit by arrows are approximately six times more likely to escape wounded and be left to die slowly, than animals shot by rifles. Hunter surveys found 12 to 48% of deer hit by arrows escaped injured, [3] significantly higher than the 5% of deer reported as escaping wounded after being shot by professional rifle shooters.
The science clearly shows that if an animal has to be killed, a single shot to the head by a competent (rifle) shooter is the most humane killing method for most species.[4] Sometimes animals considered pests or feral have to be killed, but they are as sentient as our cats and dogs and we owe them the most humane death possible. It is unethical to use an inhumane killing method when a more humane killing method exists.
[1] – (Gregory NG (2005). Bowhunting deer. Animal Welfare 14:111-116)
[2] – Lauber, Lon E. Bowhunter’s Guide to Accurate Shooting. Creative Publishing International, 2005.