Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-2n9c9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-13T22:50:50.378Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Bowhunting deer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

NG Gregory
NG Gregory*
Affiliation:
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK
Get accessRights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There are conflicting views about the humaneness of the handbow as a recreational hunting method for deer. Some claim that it is the most humane hunting method, whilst others report higher wounding rates and crippling losses than with the rifle. This commentary summarises the factors affecting the likelihood of a quick death, the types of equipment commonly used, the vital target areas, the influence of blood loss on blood pressure and brain function and the prevalence of wounding during routine bowhunting. Some requirements in Bowhunters Association Codes of Conduct are also described. It is concluded that where bowhunting is allowed, Codes of Conduct should emphasise the hunters' responsibility to track and despatch injured animals, and adherence to the Codes should be encouraged, if not enforced.

Keywords

animal welfaredeerhaemorrhagehuntingsufferingtrauma

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 14 , Issue 2: The Three Rs: past, present and future , May 2005, pp. 111 - 116
Copyright
© 2005 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Asfaw, I and Arbulu, A 1977 Penetrating wounds of the pericardium and heart. Surgical Clinics of North America 57: 37–48CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ashby, E 1997 Arrow lethality. Part 3. Turning “hits” into “kills”. Zimbabwe Hunter March/April: 10-11Google Scholar
Bar-Joseph, G, Safar, P, Stezoski, SW, Alexander, H and Levine, G 1989 New monkey model of severe-volume controlled hemorrhagic shock. Resuscitation 17: 11–32CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cina, SJ, Radentz, SS and Smialek, JE 1998 Suicide using a compound bow and arrow. American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 19: 102–105CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crippen, D, Safar, P, Snyder, C and Porter, L 1991 Dying pattern in volume-controlled haemorrhagic shock in awake rats. Resuscitation 21: 259–270CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Du Boulay, GH, El Gammal, T and Trickey, SE 1973 True and false carotid retia. British Journal of Radiology 46: 205–212CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eriksson, A, Georén, B and Öström, M 2000 Work-place homicide by bow and arrow. Journal of Forensic Sciences 45: 911–916CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferencz, C and Greco, JM 1969 Pulmonary arterial design in mammals. Morphologic variation and physiologic constancy. Johns Hopkins Medical Journal 125: 207–224Google ScholarPubMed
Foley, V, Palmer, G and Soedel, W 1985 The crossbow. Scientific American 252: 80–86CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Georén, B 1990 The mechanisms of the hunting arrow. In: Report Written for the Danish Bowhunters Association pp 1-6Google Scholar
Gregory, NG 2004 Physiology and Behaviour of Animal Suffering p 268. Blackwell Scientific Publishing: Oxford, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregory, NG and Wotton, SB 1984 Sheep slaughtering procedures. 2. Time to loss of brain responsiveness after exsanguination or cardiac arrest. British Veterinary Journal 140: 354–360CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hain, JR 1989 Fatal arrow wounds. Journal of Forensic Sciences 34: 691–693CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hartwig, H and Hartwig, HG 1985 Structural characteristics of the mammalian spleen indicating storage and release of red blood cells. Aspects of evolutionary and environmental demands. Experientia 41: 159–163CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hofmann, RR and Schotz, P 1968 Applied topographic-anatomical studies of East African game ruminants. East African Wildlife Journal 6: 107–123CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jantz, MA and Pierson, DJ 1994 Pneumothorax and barotrauma. Clinics in Chest Medicine 15: 75–91CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kellert, SR 1993 Attitudes, knowledge, and behaviour toward wildlife among the industrialised superpowers: United States, Japan, and Germany. Journal of Social Issues 1: 53–69CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirimli, B, Kampschulte, S and Safar, P 1970 Pattern of dying from exsanguinating hemorrhage in dogs. Journal of Trauma 10: 393–404CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kovách, AGB 1961 Conference on shock. Federation Proceedings 20 Suppl 9: 122–137 (now the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology)Google Scholar
Kovách, AGB and Sándor, P 1976 Cerebral blood flow and brain function during hypotension and shock. Annual Review of Physiology 38: 571–596CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lecocq, Y 1997 A European perspective on wild game meat and public health. Revue Scientifique et Technique, Office International des Épizooties 16: 579–585CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewis, FR 1982 Thoracic trauma. Surgical Clinics of North America 62: 97–104CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayer, KE and Samuel, DE 1992 A review of bow wounding literature. An annotated bibliography. Wildlife Management Division Administrative Report Number 1992-1 pp 1–33. State of California Department of Fish and Game: California, USAGoogle Scholar
McCutcheon, EP, Frazier, DT and Boyarsky, LL 1971 Changes in the somatosensory cortical evoked potential produced by hypovolemic shock. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 136: 1063–1067CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGlew, MJ, Safar, P and Stremple, P 1991 A simple survival model of volume-controlled hemorrhagic shock in awake rats. Resuscitation 21: 247–257CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McPhillips, KB, Linder, RL and Wentz, WA 1985 Nonreporting, success, and wounding by South Dakota deer bowhunters — 1981. Wildlife Society Bulletin 13: 395–398Google Scholar
Melzack, R, Wall, PD and Ty, TC 1982 Acute pain in an emergency clinic: latency of onset and descriptor patterns related to different injuries. Pain 14: 33–43CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milles, G, Koucky, CJ and Zacheis, HG 1966 Experimental uncontrolled arterial haemorrhage. Surgery 60: 434–442Google Scholar
Mustard, EW 1960 Bowhunting. Iowa Conservationist 19(2): 9, 12Google Scholar
Nixon, CM, Hansen, LP, Brewer, PA and Chelsvig, JE 1991 Ecology of white-tailed deer in an intensively farmed region of Illinois. Wildlife Monographs 118: 1–77Google Scholar
Opeskin, K and Burke, M 1994 Suicide using multiple crossbow arrows. American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 15: 14–17CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Petersen, D 2000 Heartsblood pp 172–174. Island Press/Shearwater Books: Washington DC, USAGoogle Scholar
Randall, B and Newby, P 1989 Comparison of gunshot wounds and field-tipped arrow wounds using morphological criteria and chemical spot tests. Journal of Forensic Sciences 34: 579–586CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rogers, C, Dowell, S, Choi, JH and Sathyavagiswaran, L 1990 Crossbow injuries. Journal of Forensic Sciences 35: 886–890CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rue, LL 1978 The Deer of North America p 289. Outdoor Life Books. Crown: New York, USAGoogle Scholar
Stormer, FA, Kirkpatrick, CM and Hoekstra, TW 1979 Hunter-inflicted wounding of white-tailed deer. Wildlife Society Bulletin 7: 10–16Google Scholar