Expert Talk: Bowhunting Ethics and Practice

This episode is a real treat for all those who are interested in bowhunting, bowhunting culture and the ethics of bowhunting compared to rifle hunting. Everything sprinkled with a healthy dose of hunting stories.

It feels like I’m one of the only very few who talks about bowhunting with European listeners in mind. Indeed, I would like to see hunting with archery tackle being legalised and popularised on the old continent. In my view, the notions that it’s inhumane or somehow unethical are ill-advised and plain wrong. It is especially disturbing when such unwise opinions are expressed with confidence by hunters or veterinary practitioners who have no experience or previous exposure to bowhunting.

To talk about these matters I’m joined by expert bowhunter Jim Clark. In our conversation, Jim shares a wealth of knowledge about bowhunting as well as some of his personal stories. As always I didn’t shy away from asking him hard questions to tease out the potential downsides of using archery tackle over firearms.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable conversation and it only made me want to try my hand at bowhunting even more. I will keep talking about hunting with archery tackle to at least provoke a constructive discussion among European hunters and hunting organisations alike. If you would like to see bowhunting legalised, please leave a comment. What are your thoughts?

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This is the Conservation and Science podcast Replay series, a curated collection of best episodes from last year. If you are new to the show, this is an excellent opportunity to catch up with the most popular episodes from the back catalogue. And if you’re a regular listener, maybe you missed one of those or want to listen to one of them again. Don’t worry! The new episodes are being published on the regular fortnightly schedule, so keep tuning in for the new content every other Tuesday.