Bow hunting illegal why ?

Davy Tee

New member
Being new to the lifestyle of archery i was wondering when and why bow hunting in the UK became illegal.

If you can hunt with a gun in this country why not a Bow ?

I sit on the fence when it comes to hunting im just interested in why its not possible.

Thanks in advance.
 

Rabid Hamster

Well-known member
Ironman
to stop hordes of gnas members flocking to sherwood forest to hunt the king's ... errr .... queen's deer of course! ;)
 

Nightimer

New member
We dont have the large areas of wilderness that exist in the USA that you can hunt in with safety.
Hunting requires far different skills that a target archer will not have,not knowing the correct arrow shot for a clean kill being one.
Hunting in the US for many is a way of life and skills are handed down from father to son.
Over here you could end up with unskilled archers with underpowered bows creating all sorts of carnage.
It is best that it remains illegal in the UK.
But long may it thrive in the US.
Why?because its what keeps Hoyt and Bowtech etc in business,you dont think they make a fortune from target archery do you?
Its hunters who keep the industry going.
 

Riceburner

Active member
We dont have the large areas of wilderness that exist in the USA that you can hunt in with safety.
Hunting requires far different skills that a target archer will not have,not knowing the correct arrow shot for a clean kill being one.
Hunting in the US for many is a way of life and skills are handed down from father to son.
Over here you could end up with unskilled archers with underpowered bows creating all sorts of carnage.
It is best that it remains illegal in the UK.
All good reasons for maintaining the ban, but anyone got any sources of when and why the ban came into effect?
 

Nightimer

New member
All good reasons for maintaining the ban, but anyone got any sources of when and why the ban came into effect?
The bit of info that I could dig up says it was in 1963.
It was a political decision to save any undue suffering to animals for obvious reasons (unskilled bowhunters).
 

TJ Mason

Soaring
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
American Shoot
The original legislation that outlawed bowhunting was in 1963. Permitted killing methods were listed, and archery equipment was not in the list. So bowhunting was outlawed by implication.

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 pulled this together with various other bits of legislation, and explicitly outlawed the use of archery equipment.

The bit to look at is section 11:

http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/conten...xtDocId=809282&VersionNumber=3&filesize=30831

The legislation says that no bow or crossbow may be used, but doesn't actually say no arrow may be used! So you could argue in court that it only outlaws conking the animals on the head with a bow, not shooting them. :mischievo
 

Stash

New member
Over here you could end up with unskilled archers with underpowered bows creating all sorts of carnage.
As opposed to North America where you have unskilled archers with OVERpowered bows creating all sorts of carnage.
:D
 

bimble

Well-known member
Supporter
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Ironman
AIUK Saviour
nah, hunters like those are fine... chance of hitting anything, including trees, rocks, planet earth are highly remote. It's those that are actually just good enough to get a shot off but not good enough to kill that are the problem.
 

roytherecurve

New member
Have a good trawl through you tube and you'll find many reasons why hunting with bows is illegal here.

Hunting requires skills honed through many, many, hours of practise and study of the quarry. Skills that 90% of U.S. hunters do not possess.
 
Bow hunting is for fools!

To kill an animal for food might be seen as ok
But to kill just for the sake of it! To murder and call it a sport, some people realy have thier heads on backwards. Don't get me wrong I love my archery, I would never be with out it, but going out to murder an animal that will suffer a very painfull death is not what I call sport

see you all out on the target feild
 

Thorvald

Active member
I too don't understand that bowhunting is illegal. Bowhunting is sort of more human than shooting with a shotgun or rifle. Done correct the animal won't feel that it has been shot. And shortly after, it will fall to the ground.

I believe that in Denmark we have the best bowhunting rules, that also USA bowhunters should have - what some serious USA bowhunters do agree with.

In Denmark, bowhunting is basically illegal too. But you can get a permission to go bowhunting anyway. It requires quite a few things though:
- First you need to have the normal hunting license, that you get via a course, where you learn everything about hunting, animals, safety etc. The normal hunting license is given if you pass a theoretical and a practical exam. You can't go to the practical exam if you don't pass the theoretical part.
- If you have got the normal hunting license and if you have paid for it you can get permission to hunt with bow. To get this permission you have to:
- Go through a bowhunting course.
- Pass a theoretical exam, with 20 questions. Max. 2 mistakes allowed.
- If you pass the theoretical exam, you can go to the practical exam.
- In the practical exam you have 6 shots at unknown distances up to 25 m and 5 of the 6 must hit in the vitals of a animal target face. Also safety in handling the bow is looked at.
The license is valid for 5 years and then you have to pass a new practical exam to keep it. If you wish to change type of bow (for example from compoundbow to recurve) within the 5 years, you have to go to a new practical exam with that bow.
Furthermore there are rules to the bowhunting equipment:
- The arrow must weight min. 25 gram.
- The bow must be powerful enough (shoot the arrow fast enough) to deliver a kinetic energy of min. 40 joule.
- and perhaps a few other rules that I don't remember at the moment.

For some reason, crossbow is forbidden in Denmark (you need weapons license to own one) and is totally forbidden for hunting. This is difficult to understand since the energy a crossbow delivers is typically from 100 to a little over 200 joule. So it is very effective and accurate, shot like a rifle. If I should suggest something, it should be possible to get permission to hunt with crossbow as well, under these regulations: You need first a bowhunting license and then you need to pass a special crossbowhunting course and exam, with the same or stricter demands for passing, as the bowhunting exam.
 

BorderBows

New member
Have a good trawl through you tube and you'll find many reasons why hunting with bows is illegal here.

Hunting requires skills honed through many, many, hours of practise and study of the quarry. Skills that 90% of U.S. hunters do not possess.
Sitting in your landrover with your mate, driving round the farms with a lamp on the roof, gun hanging out the window looking for foxes isnt many hours of practice, Isnt a honed skill...

Sitting with a bipod on your rimfire 0.22, flask of coffee and chatting to your mate over the bonet of said landrover waiting on the rabbits comeing out isnt skillfull either.

Can you tell me how many local hunters have a deer stalker cert?
used to be a 5 quid post office bit of paper made you "ready to hunt"
Hell my granny could get one!

There are Bowhunters here in the UK that support/ fund/ promote, educated informed habitat conservation, shot selection, and animal reteival. as well as ethical animal control. So i think before you start making snide comments about the ethics or the actual application of bowhunting i suggest that anyone interested in this area of shooting sign up to IBEF course to find out what is being taught, current thinking, and aptitude of the people that are hunters.
A IBEF course will show you what your talking about and allow your to expore the reasons why your for or against bowhunting.


Only once educted, in what bowhunting involves can you comment in my opinion.
For those that have been on a bowhunting course and have decided against bowhunting then i will agree that their opinion carries a ton more kudos.

As for the 90% of US bowhunters dont possess. I think 90% of US hunters have A bucket load more knowledge/respect for their wildlife than we have for ours.
So that sweeping statement is very very unfair.

Do you know what the laws are in Canada for hunting in terms of what your allowed to take and the costs?
Do you know what the eductation requirement is for Bowhunters in Denmark. is?
I beleave that there is 11% of all monies in the US, generated in shooting sports is ringfenced for animal conservation. and Comptons, Denton Hill, and AMO shows have over 6000 archers though thier doors for archery alone.
As for archery being used in confined spaces. It is the perfect hunting method as the overshot risks are reduced to max 100 yards in the worst case scenario. Cant say that for a gun...
 

BorderBows

New member
I too don't understand that bowhunting is illegal. Bowhunting is sort of more human than shooting with a shotgun or rifle. Done correct the animal won't feel that it has been shot. And shortly after, it will fall to the ground.

I believe that in Denmark we have the best bowhunting rules, that also USA bowhunters should have - what some serious USA bowhunters do agree with.

In Denmark, bowhunting is basically illegal too. But you can get a permission to go bowhunting anyway. It requires quite a few things though:
- First you need to have the normal hunting license, that you get via a course, where you learn everything about hunting, animals, safety etc. The normal hunting license is given if you pass a theoretical and a practical exam. You can't go to the practical exam if you don't pass the theoretical part.
- If you have got the normal hunting license and if you have paid for it you can get permission to hunt with bow. To get this permission you have to:
- Go through a bowhunting course.
- Pass a theoretical exam, with 20 questions. Max. 2 mistakes allowed.
- If you pass the theoretical exam, you can go to the practical exam.
- In the practical exam you have 6 shots at unknown distances up to 25 m and 5 of the 6 must hit in the vitals of a animal target face. Also safety in handling the bow is looked at.
The license is valid for 5 years and then you have to pass a new practical exam to keep it. If you wish to change type of bow (for example from compoundbow to recurve) within the 5 years, you have to go to a new practical exam with that bow.
Furthermore there are rules to the bowhunting equipment:
- The arrow must weight min. 25 gram.
- The bow must be powerful enough (shoot the arrow fast enough) to deliver a kinetic energy of min. 40 joule.
- and perhaps a few other rules that I don't remember at the moment.

For some reason, crossbow is forbidden in Denmark (you need weapons license to own one) and is totally forbidden for hunting. This is difficult to understand since the energy a crossbow delivers is typically from 100 to a little over 200 joule. So it is very effective and accurate, shot like a rifle. If I should suggest something, it should be possible to get permission to hunt with crossbow as well, under these regulations: You need first a bowhunting license and then you need to pass a special crossbowhunting course and exam, with the same or stricter demands for passing, as the bowhunting exam.
Thanks for your information... Sound like Denmark has listened to the informed.
Crossbows are VERY different to bows. and should be treated differently. (i didnt say banned, but treated with a different kind of respect)
 

Thorvald

Active member
I agree that crossbows are a different type of bow and that it is ok, they are threated differently than bows. But I also agree that they didn't have to be banned as much as they are in Denmark.
 

Davy Tee

New member
What about fishing with a bow and arrow then. Risk is minimal as you are shooting down into the water.

I came from a Gun background (Target only) and boy did i come across some idiots who go out there and hunt.

Cant see why they get to carry on, yet our very old (and dare i say it our right to do so) traditional method of hunting was outlawed.

Interesting replies folks thanks.
 

Thorvald

Active member
I don't know about UK, but I am pretty sure that bowfishing is not allowed at all in Denmark. Don't know why. If I am not mistaken, bowfishing is even more difficult to find places where it is allowed, than bowhunting. Again, I am not sure why.

Yes, it can seem strange that in a country as UK, where archery has very traditional roots, that bowhunting is outlawed totally.
 

TJ Mason

Soaring
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
American Shoot

Stash

New member
I'd just like to post an opinion on the sort of philosophical difference between British (and many other European countries') attitudes towards bowhunting, and hunting in general, vs that of North Americans.

I'm NOT suggesting either is right or wrong and not looking to argue, by the way. :D

The theme in the UK is that "bowhunting is unsafe" or that bowhunters are not skilled enough, etc, etc, so the practice is banned.

The philosophy in the US and to a lesser degree in Canada seems to be "it's my traditional right to hunt, and whether or not I have the skills some bureaucrat or politician thinks I need is none of their business".
 

TJ Mason

Soaring
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American Shoot
It's more the case that hunting has long been the preserve of a privileged minority in Britain. The Normans and their descendants sharply restricted the hunting rights of English commoners, imposing harsh penalties for anyone who dared take one of "their" deer. So hunting isn't really in our psyche. It backfired on the toffs a few years ago when they looked to the public for support in opposing the ban on foxhunting, and the public shrugged indifferently.
 
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