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Alberta, Canada Outlaws Bear Hunting With a Spear After Bowmar Video

Liberte Austin - comments No comments

“Spear-hunting is being banned in Alberta following outcry after a viral video showed an American hunter killing a black bear with a spear,” Canada’s National Post reports. Can that be right? All it took was one American hunter on YouTube to get spear hunting bears banned in Alberta? Yup . . .

The government pledged to change the rules after the graphic online video of the bear’s death surfaced in 2016.

The video, posted on YouTube by hunter Josh Bowmar, showed a bear being baited before the spear, with a camera attached, was launched at the animal from 11 to 14 metres away. The video also showed the man celebrating when the bear was hit.

After the video caused uproar on social media, the province consulted with hunting groups and Alberta Environment and Parks received more than 3,900 responses from the public about the new regulations. Phillips said most supported the prohibition.

“Of the about 118,000 who hunt big game in Alberta every year, over 90 per cent of those folks are Alberta residents,” Phillips said. “We are really just reflecting what Albertans want.”

What was that about democracy being two wolves and a sheep discussing what’s for dinner?

The province has updated hunting rules to ensure big game animals do not suffer unnecessarily and to discourage reckless hunting.

“Albertans know that spear-hunting is not safe,” Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said in an interview.

“It’s not humane because most hunters know that the chances of getting close enough to hit that moving target with big game, and sufficient accuracy and force to kill immediately is next to zero.”

Hello? Have you seen the arms on Josh Bowmar?

Sigh. I guess there are some things you just shouldn’t post on YouTube. Like . . . Justin Timberlake’s new “Filthy” video. Is Justin Timberlake from Canada or is that Justin Bieber? Anyway, the new rules arrive just in time for the 2018 hunting season. How great is that?

0 thoughts on “Alberta, Canada Outlaws Bear Hunting With a Spear After Bowmar Video”

  1. They totally do have a responsibility to limit gun violence. It’s a moral imperative and should be enforced by law: Members of the industry should not shoot at others or brandish, except in cases of self-defense. Boom, gun violence limited.

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  2. And yet Australia did a better job of keeping weapons out of the hands of maniacs and criminals than this country has ever done.

    They’ve suffered no mass killings after the port arthur tragedy and any incidents that do happen are extremely rare versus the numerous incidents that happen everyday.

    How many shootings or mass killings did they have in one month versus the dozens that happen everyday in the US including the most recent mass shooting rampage in florida that this website likes to ignore.

    https://www.local10.com/news/crime/suspect-killed-by-deputy-on-i-95-went-on-shooting-rampage

    Or the dozens of others that happened throughout the whole month of jan and recently this month.

    http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting

    These don’t happen everyday in Europe, Canada, Japan or Australia.

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  3. To a limited degree. They should make it hard for criminals to get weaponry, which is taken about as far as it can be by their adherence to existing laws.

    I also think they should stick to practical products and avoid making range toys that depend on technicalities to dodge the intent of the law. Bump stocks, trigger cranks, pistol “braces” and Shockwave not-shotguns are examples. They’re begging for lawmakers and regulators to cause trouble, which I might consider irresponsible due to the risk to gun rights.

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    • If range toys are legal, then so be it. I would not want to not have something perfectly legal simply because somebody else poo-poos it.

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  4. 1. Don’t use your range bag as your airline carry-on bag.

    2. Don’t use your airline carry-on bag as your range bag.

    Those two rules alone will eliminate many (if not all) airport confiscation incidents, especially the ones where TSA tosses someone in a room for hours because there was a stray .22LR round rattling around the bottom of their carry-on.

    I use a backpack as my range bag. I got a second pack for my carry-on after I found a single loose round in the bottom of my pack. Fortunately, I was at home and not at the airport when I found that pesky little stowaway. In any case, finding a round in my carry-on is never going to happen again.

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  5. These days, it’s really not wise to post some things in public.
    Unfortunately, too many people object to killing just for fun, and that video made for very poor public relations.
    It was also reported that, instead of putting the bear out of it’s misery, he let it crawl off and die. Then returned the next day for the trophy video.

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  6. So much wrongness…
    1. Did I miss the part where they explain why spear hunting is less humane than archery hunting?
    2. Mob rule means if I don’t feel the need to throw spears at bears no one can.
    3. The founding fathers of Canada couldn’t forsee modern “assault spears”
    4. Bunchafudds
    5. I’m still mad at underarmour if anyone is asking

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  7. This is how our ancestors hunted. To honor them by imitation is a great celebration of the spirit of the wild. A rifle, shotgun, crossbow, compound bow or even a longbow is easy by comparison.

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  8. That appears to be a WWII contract M1911A1 made by Ithaca but refinished in nickel. The new-made Ithaca 1911s are really nice, though, and right in RF’s price range.

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  9. Of all the guns I stand to inherit, only one (a Savage 16ga bolt action) will see almost no use. Everything else will be cheerfully carried, shot, hunted with, and used as often as I please.
    Dad knows this too and is probably why he insists he’ll have to be properly dead before I get any of them.
    ????

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  10. It’s a matter of perspective. The firearms industry produces tools that, when used as intended, may limit violence against otherwise innocent victims.

    Said another way, when I carry it is to deter or limit gun violence from being perpetrated against myself and my family.

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  11. You might think I’m a dummy but I just traded my beloved Shield 9 for a 2.0 compact. The longer barrel and round capacity is the main reason. I haven’t shot it yet but I cleaned it thoroughly. (After S&W ran a test round thru it they didn’t do an adequate cleaning as far as I’m concerned.) I also have a Shield 45 so I’m used to the gritty grip but I ended up putting a Hogue grip on the 45 and I’m a little more accurate with it now. The 2.0 grip appears to be fat enough so it may not get a Hogue added. I hope the new pistol will please me enough to make it a keeper. I’ve owned 6 S&W pistols and have never had a bad experience with any of them.

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  12. I like the gun, love the design changes but, not being able to adjust the sites so you can hit the broad side of a barn on a $1000.00+ pistol is a major screw up! I’ll wait to purchase one when they add some good sites because I like hitting what I aim at…

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  13. I have carried (and will again) my late Uncle’s S&W M&P Hand Ejector made in 1905-1907.

    He bought it during the depression from a friend in need of cash for $5.

    It’s nickle is badly tarnished but it shoots well.

    I have a later model Hand ejector made in the 20s that was my grandfathers. It lived in my truck during college. Smooth and slick.

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  14. You left out the most interesting part of the TSA report
    Of the loaded guns, 35% had an empty chamber
    That means that 65% of negligent gun owners favor “Israeli carry”!

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  15. The only Taurus that I want is one of the Judge revolvers. I don’t really view 410 / 45LC revolvers are serious practical weapons, so it is the one time I would be will to take a cheaper and lower quality Taurus over a S&W.

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  16. So, Bill Ruger and the NYT would be cool with the Sutherland Springs psychopath killing 10 or 15 instead of 26? They’d say “our job is done, no need for any more bloody shirt waving or inflammatory editorials”?

    Liberals like to comment on the need for national conversations. Those are difficult though when one side is so disingenuous.

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  17. OK let me see if I can get this right:
    1911: Turkey; Citizens disarmed-1.5 million Armenians slaughtered
    1929; Russia, Citizens disarmed- 20 million Russians murdered
    1935; China, Citizens disarmed- 20 million Chinese killed
    1938; Germany; Citizens disarmed- 6 million Jews murdered
    1956; Cambodia; Citizens disarmed- 1 million “intellectuals” killed
    1964; Guatemala; Citizens disarmed- 100,000 Mayan Indians massacred
    1970; Uganda; Citizens disarmed – 3000,000 Christians put to death
    When will they ever learn? (an old song)
    2025: USA; Citizens disarmed- 48.9 million US Good Citizens slaughtered.
    A government so great that can take a life before birth is one so big they can come for your guns and your life. Vote them out, and be careful who you vote for!

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  18. In the ratings, Nick says it’s a mil scope. Pictures indicate it’s MOA. Unless Sig has figured out a way to get 23 mils of elevation on one revolution, something is amiss. Same with the pic of the reticle.
    What distances were shot and was the scope tested in near dark conditions?
    There may be folks who don’t know what the usual tests are, so maybe a better explanation of what tests Nick did are in order? I know what a box test is, but was a tall target test done?
    The scope may be fine, but this review could be better.

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  19. A spear is a thrusting weapon. That kill was made with a javelin. From the glittering of the ruby on it, I’m guessing a +5 NRG.

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  20. The firearms industry has a responsibility for the safety of their products, which are remarkably safe. Given that it takes half a dozen deliberate, correct steps to do violence using a gun, their responsibility is nothing.

    I’ll believe they’re sincere talking about the responsibility of the makers of devices when kitchen knives come with safeties, baseball bats require loading, and cars only operate in one, precise vector. Safety is getting clipped by spew from under your lawn mower’s deck, or not. Violence is someone running over your foot with a lawn mower on purpose.

    Given how many precise, correct steps it takes to harm someone using a gun, it’s weird that Mothers Against Only Some Violence & the rest are more bugged that you can do violence with a gun if you work hard enough at it, than that people choose to.

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  21. I trust time. Time will tell. In other words people will buy it and you will find out soon enough what the truth is. read buyer’s reviews. You have to shift through them for the ones that are from experienced shooters.

    bad is bad, if it doesn’t work you’ll find out quickly. On Youtube there are some who give great reviews. But they are opinions and some will not fit what you need.

    The best review is your own.

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  22. Type O’s happen. (Just imagine that written in blood).

    My only question, what’s with everyone’s use of “[sic]” in their own work? Does it mean “I made a mistake, but don’t know how to use the backspace key?” Maybe it means “I made a mistake/unusual usage on purpose and want the reader to notice it.” I honestly don’t get it.

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  23. 6.5 x 53R Dutch / Romanian on a Mannlicher-style (clip-load, not the uber- kewl Greek rotary mag) action.

    .400 “Rook”, on a ‘baby” Snider action.

    Reply

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