text: The Alberta government has condemned a controversial hunting practice after a U.S. hunter posted a YouTube video that shows him killing a bear using a spear. 
   
   The video, posted in June, shows Josh Bowmar, a personal trainer and former competitive javelin thrower, hitting the bear with the hand-thrown spear. It's believed the video was shot in May northeast of Edmonton. 
   
   "The type of archaic hunting seen in the recently posted video … is unacceptable," Alberta's Ministry of Environment and Parks said in a written statement. "We will introduce a ban on spear hunting this fall." 
   
   The department has also directed fish and wildlife officers to investigate to see if charges are warranted under existing laws. 
   
   Conservation groups press for change 
   
   "We've got at least one hunter that has come up here and wanted to hunt by use of a spear, so now it means we're going to have to address it by way of policy," said Wayne Lowry, president of the Alberta Fish and Game Association, a conservation group that consults with government on its regulations. 
   
   As the black bear approaches food left as bait, Bowmar winds up to throw his spear. (YouTube) 
   
   He said the 2016 regulations that came into force in July should prevent spear hunting by applying strict definitions as to what constitutes a weapon. But he admitted the lack of a specific ban could make the regulation a grey area. At the time the video was recorded, there was no law in place preventing spear hunting. 
   
   In the video, Bowmar was accompanied by Swan Hills outfitters John and Jenn Rivet and carried a two-metre spear equipped with 40-centimetre blade. A large black bear was drawn to the area through what is known as bear baiting, where food is placed near a waiting hunting party. That activity is also legal in Alberta. 
   
   "He's going down, I drilled him perfect," Bowmar joyously exclaims after the spear lodges in the bear's side. "That was the longest throw I thought I could ever make." 
   
   For added effect, a GoPro camera mounted on the spear captured the moment of impact. 
   
   "I just did something that I don't think anybody in the world has ever done, and that was spear a bear on the ground, on film," Bowmar says on the video. 
   
   Clean kill or unnecessary suffering? 
   
   The hunting party left the area afterward, due to darkness and rain, Bowmar later says. The next morning they returned and found the bear dead, about 50 metres from where it had been hit. 
   
   In a statement to CBC News, Bowmar said the bear "died immediately," adding the kill was "as humane and ethical as one could get in a hunting situation on big game animals." 
   
   Lowry disagrees. He said his organization was trying to get the government to outlaw spear hunting long before the Bowmar video surfaced. 
   
   "Since we want to promote the most ethical means of harvesting an animal as possible, I highly doubt that it's going to be a legal way of hunting in the future." 
   
   He said his primary objection to spear hunting is the risk that an injured animal could run off and suffer for an extended period. He admitted those risks also exist with other forms of hunting. 
   
   Bowmar turns to the camera and raises his arms in celebration after his spear hits the black bear. (YouTube) 
   
   British tabloids and online discussion groups have been quick to condemn not just the method of killing the bear, but also Bowmar's enthusiastic approach in the video. After spearing the bear he seems giddy about his success. 
   
   "That's going to be some epic footage," he proclaims to the camera. "Yeah, I got mad penetration. That's a dead bear." 
   
   The headline in U.K.'s Daily Express read: "Warped Hunter Kills Starving Bear with Seven Foot Homemade Spear." 
   
   The Mirror headline was: "Hunters in Sick New Low as Black Bear is Stabbed with 7 ft Spear then Left to Die." 
   
   Lowry was more tempered in his criticism. "There's much more ethical and effective means of harvesting an animal." ||||| Hunting wildlife with spears will be banned in Alberta in the wake of video footage showing an American hunter throwing a spear into a black bear in the northern part of the province. 
   
   Labelling the practice of modern spear hunting as “archaic” and “unacceptable,” the government on Monday condemned the actions of hunter Josh Bowmar and asked fish and wildlife officers to investigate the incident to determine if charges were warranted. 
   
   The YouTube video, posted June 5, that shows Bowmar’s hunt (believed to be near Swan Hills, about two hours north of Edmonton) has been viewed more than 200,000 times, with many viewers, even some hunters, denouncing the kill as “barbaric” and “unnecessary.” By late Monday afternoon, the video had been removed from public viewing. 
   
   “I just did something that I don’t think anybody in the world has ever done,” an elated Bowmar tells the camera after launching a spear about 10 to 12 metres into the side of a mature black bear that had been attracted to a bait bin. 
   
   Bear baiting is not illegal in Alberta, but it is restricted to certain areas. 
   
   The bear Bowmar targets isn’t immediately killed by the projectile and flees into the dusk. 
   
   “I can’t believe that just happened … He’s going down, I drilled him perfect. That was the longest throw I ever thought I could ever make,” Bowmar tells the camera. 
   
   “That was a 12- to 15-yard spear throw, on the ground, no blind, no backup. We have no shotguns within miles of here.” 
   
   Bowmar walks out to the spot, finds the spear and turns to the camera: “Oh yeah, I got mad penetration.” 
   
   The video cuts to the next day and shows part of the black bear’s intestines wrapped around low-hanging branches and Bowmar discovering the animal “60 to 70 yards” away from where it was first struck. 
   
   A man identified as John on the video reasons that because of evidence of rigor mortis, “this bear died within seconds.” 
   
   Bowmar, who runs an Ohio-based fitness company, credits Swan Hills outfitter husband and wife team of John and Jenn Rivet with helping in the hunt. Calls to the Rivets went unanswered Monday. 
   
   Bowmar told The Canadian Press in an email he was surprised by the reaction to the video. He said 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.” 
   
   He said the spear blade he used was 13 centimetres wide and about 40 centimetres long and penetrated the bear more than 60 centimetres deep. 
   
   “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,” he wrote. 
   
   He also said the animals he hunts are not wasted. 
   
   “In fact, it is even against the law to waste the animals hide … We also eat the meat from our harvested animals including bear. On top of tasting amazing, it’s extremely nutritious for our bodies.” 
   
   Wayne Lowry, president of the Alberta Fish and Game Association, said it is uncommon for hunters to use spears and “because it is so uncommon, it’s never really had to be dealt with in the legislation, but knowing that it is being done in other countries and other jurisdictions, we figured it would show up here sooner or later.” 
   
   Lowry said there was nothing prohibiting the use of a spear because it fits into a broad definition that allows hunters to use anything “that is a legal weapon.” 
   
   That was until this video emerged. 
   
   The Alberta government said Monday it is currently updating the province’s hunting regulations and promised to introduce a spear ban in the fall. 
   
   “Hunting should be done with the most effective means possible to ensure you have a quick and immediate death as possible,” Lowry said. 
   
   “The common weaponry — firearms or bow — can effect a speedy death so they are not suffering unduly by being wounded.” 
   
   Lowry also said it was not illegal to leave an injured animal overnight but, “ideally you track and retrieve as soon as possible.” 
   
   Online outrage and death threats towards Bowmar and his 13-minute hunting video have closely mirrored that of when American dentist Walter Palmer shot and killed Cecil the lion in Africa in July 2015. 
   
   People commenting on the video post were quick to attack Bowmar and his hunting techniques. 
   
   “A real hunter kills quickly and humanely and shows respect for the animal that he has killed,” one person wrote. 
   
   Another wrote: “Surely there are laws against this kind of hunting? It’s not even hunting — it’s animal cruelty, pure and simple.” 
   
   One user, identified only as Shep said: “Dude … I am going to make it my mission … to hunt you down … and then I’m going to do to you … what you did to that bear … then I’m going to take your head … and it will be kept as my (expletive) trophy. Mark my words … I WILL find you …” 
   
   According to a short bio on a website, Bowmar was a National Collegiate Athletic Association athlete with “All American honours” in javelin. 
   
   Bowmar’s YouTube channel, Bowmar Bowhunting, has dozens of hunting videos showing him and wife, Sarah, hunting a wide variety of animals. 
   
   With files from CP 
   
   jgraney@postmedia.com 
   
   twitter.com/jurisgraney ||||| By Laura A. Bischoff 
   
   Columbus bureau 
   
   A former college javelin thrower with ties to Ohio is attracting global backlash for posting a video online showing him killing a black bear in Alberta, Canada. 
   
   Bodybuilder and fitness buff Josh Bowmar is being criticized in the media and by the Humane Society of the United States for killing the bear with a spear that had a GoPro camera attached to it. 
   
   Wayne Pacelle, chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States, said in a blog post that Bowmar, 26, of Columbus, baited the female bear, killed it during the spring when mothers are nursing dependent cubs, used a homemade spear with a camera attached, and breathlessly celebrated the kill. 
   
   “He’s so deeply disconnected from the suffering of an innocent creature that he felt free to yell and prance with joy as the life was spilling out of this innocent animal,” Pacelle wrote. He added that Bowmar is “this year’s version of Walter Palmer,” the American dentist who killed a lion and attracted worldwide attention. 
   
   Bowmar’s 13-minute video of the incident is no longer publicly available on his YouTube channel. Edited versions of it have been posted by media outlets, including The Mirror in the United Kingdom. 
   
   Track and field websites report that Bowmar was a javelin thrower and sprinter for Heidelberg College. He has also competed in the Arnold Classic body building competitions. 
   
   Bowmar told The Mirror on Monday that he cares about animals and considered it an ethical kill. 
   
   Speaking exclusively to the Mirror he said: “You all should be ashamed of yourselves for trying to kill a heritage that has existed for over a million years. 
   
   “Literally, since the dawn of man, the spear has been a vital role in survival.”
target: – Killing a bear with a hand-thrown spear isn't an everyday feat—but the government of Alberta, Canada, is not impressed by the prowess of American hunter Josh Bowmar. The government promised to introduce a ban on "archaic" and "unacceptable" hunting with spears after video surfaced of Bowmar, a former javelin athlete, killing a bear from more than 12 yards away with a 7-foot spear that had a GoPro camera attached, the Edmonton Journal reports. The wounded bear, which had been attracted by a bait bin, ran off. In a YouTube video that has now been taken offline, Bowmar says he returned the next day and found the body of the bear around 150 feet from where it was hit. The video sparked controversy—and lurid headlines like "Warped Hunter Kills Starving Bear with Seven Foot Homemade Spear" in British tabloids—not just for the manner of the kill, but for Bowmar's celebration, the CBC reports. "That's going to be some epic footage," he exclaims. "Yeah, I got mad penetration. That's a dead bear." The Humane Society of the US also weighed in, referring to the Ohio man as "this year's version of Walter Palmer," the American dentist who killed Cecil the Lion, notes the Dayton Daily News. Bowmar says he was surprised by the reaction. The kill was "as humane and ethical as one could get in a hunting situation on big game animals," he says, adding that "no one cares more about these animals than us hunters, especially me," and that the bear's hide and meat did not go to waste. (A California woman angered her neighbors by having a bear shot.)