The Alberta government is planning on a ban against spear hunting after a video was posted online which showed a black bear being slaughtered by a spear, calling the practice unacceptable and motivating many to try and make it illegal. The video of the kill was posted to Josh Bowmar’s YouTube account, and it has caused considerable anger and outrage by those who viewed it. Eventually the video was made private but not before it became the center of a controversy. The video had over 200,000 views before the setting was changed. An emailed statement from Tim Chamberlin, the spokesman for Alberta Environment and Parks, stated “Work is well underway to update Alberta’s hunting regulations. We will introduce a ban on spear hunting this fall as part of those updated regulations. In the meantime, we have asked Fish and Wildlife officers to investigate this incident to determine if charges are warranted under existing laws.”

Josh Bowmar does not understand what all the fuss is about, or why the Alberta government would want to ban spear hunting. Bowman explained “Spears have been used for hunting since the dawn of man and the notion that the method is inhumane couldn’t be further from the truth. The bear I speared only ran (55 metres) and died immediately, that’s as humane and ethical as one could get in a hunting situation on big game animals. Trust me, no one cares more about these animals than us hunters, especially me, If I didn’t care about the humane killing of this bear, why did I spend years preparing and practicing, becoming extremely proficient with a spear to make sure I could harvest this bear ethically? In fact, it is even against the law to waste the animals hide from the animals. We also eat the meat from our harvested animals including bear. On top of tasting amazing, it’s extremely nutritious for our bodies.”