The province of Alberta is moving ahead with a change to hunting regulations that will prohibit people from using weapons, such as spears, against big game.
Starting in the upcoming season, hunters will be limited to rifles, shotguns and conventional archery gear.
Spears and spear-throwing equipment such as atlatls, tools that use a long handle to throw short spears at great velocities, have been banned from use.
The regulations have also set out new standards for ammunition. Shotgun pellets must be larger than .24 inches in diameter to ensure that animals are killed quickly and effectively.
The government says the change is to ensure hunting is safe, responsible and humane and to discourage reckless actions that have the potential to subject big game to unnecessary suffering.
Those found to be using a weapon in contravention to Alberta’s Wildlife Act could face a maximum $50,000 fine, one year in jail or both.
If a threatened or endangered species is involved, the penalty would be doubled.
The NDP government had pledged to end the practice of spear hunting in Alberta in 2016 after U.S. hunter Josh Bowmar posted a video on YouTube where he baited and then killed a black bear with a spear.
Officials called the act ‘archaic and unacceptable’ and Wayne Lowry, the president of Alberta’s Fish and Game Association at the time said the government was making the right choice and he was ‘very pleased’ with the decision.
No charges were ever laid against Bowmar in connection with the incident.
Alberta Environment and Parks received over 3,900 responses from the public in regards to the regulations change process and the majority of those supported the prohibition of spears in big game hunting.
The new regulations will not interfere with First Nations hunters’ traditional hunting methods.
(With files from CTV Edmonton)
