First off I will say I am in the US, and was alerted to this article by a fellow bowhunter in Canada. However, I have good friends in Canada and my business is supplied by a Canadian manufactuer, so I have some close ties to your country.

Did anyone do any research on Mr. Bruce Thornton before printing his article? He is no hunter, and I strongly doubt his honesty and motives. He also has very pititul research skills. I would like to know how many pictures he has seen of "deer walking around with arrows in them", and if he verified even one of the so-called articles "relating the suffering other animals go through when impaled with an arrow". If all the "hunters" he knows would never use a bow to take game, then he obviously doesn't know many hunters.

I am 36 years old, and I live in the South where hunting is a strong tradition, and deer are the primary game animal--one of only two big game animals we have, with feral hogs being the other. Of my 36 years, I have spent near 30 in the woods during hunting season. I have seen numerous kills, I have helped butcher countless deer. I have NEVER seen even one deer running around with an arrow sticking out of it. I have never even seen an old arrow wound from a deer taken--and my guess is I've seen hundreds of dead deer. Would you say the people in your area are that inept? I don't think so.

As for suffering, I would ask Mr. Bruce Thornton if he's ever been cut with a very sharp object, such as a razor blade. On the miniscule chance that he hasn't, I would tell him one thing--there is practically no pain involved. I haven't done any official research, but being a bowhunter myself I have talked to hundreds of other bowhunters and have heard countless stories of deer that have been shot with broadheads. Many times the deer look around, go back to feeding, then fall asleep and die. Yes, they actually do fall asleep--broadheads kill by hemmorage (versus shock, which is how firearms kill). The animals pass out within minutes, sometimes seconds, due to oxygen depravation. Is passing out painful? Considering the fact that deer struggle daily for survival, and if they are lucky enough to evade preditors that will literally start feeding on them while they are still alive, they also have to struggle against disease, starvation, and especially in your part of the world some very harsh winters. Passing out from blood loss is probably the most peaceful, humane, least painful, and least violent way a deer will ever die.

Modern archery equipment, even "traditional" archery equipment, is very, very effective, very non-invasive, and very low-impact on nature. I won't say there aren't incompetent hunters, because that would be a lie. There are incompetent people in every aspect of life--but that is just part of life. A decent hunter with any morals or ethics about them will take the time required to become proficient with their chosen weapon, and have the discipline to wait for the right moment for the shot--or not shoot at all.

On occasion a bad shot is made--it could be due to poor judgement or bad luck--I will admit that it happens. Should bowhunting be banned due to this?

First I would suggest finding out how many deer are killed (violently and painfully), and how many are wounded every year, by automobiles. Automobiles don't only wound and kill deer, but practically every animal on God's green earth that ever nears a road or highway has lost some of it's number due to these motorized killing machines. They should be banned. Not only are numerous animals senselessly murdered, but usually the meat and pelts are just left to spoil. Of course the meat and pelt is often too mutilated to be used by humans, but often they are just left to rot even when they aren't torn to shreds.

My above statement seems pretty stupid doesn't it? Not nearly as stupid as Mr. Bruce Thornton's "research". Halloween is still several months away Mr. Bruce Thornton--take off your hunter costume and reveal yourself for what you really are.

Respectfully from the US,

Chad