State expert says bow hunting deer not inhumane

In our recent story, Chapel Hill parks director Butch Kisiah said one concern about joining the state's urban archery program to control the deer population is that arrows don't always kill right away. A deer can travel several hundred yards before it bleeds out, he said. Last year then Mayor Kevin Foy said he also wanted to make sure whatever route the town took was humane.

We spoke to Evin Stanford, the state's deer biologist today. He said it is true on occasion that a deer can be injured but not quickly killed by a bowhunter. But overwhelmingly, he said, the animal dies within a few yards of where it has been shot. "If you actually look at the research, deer typically expire very quickly," he said.

As we reported, the Chapel Hill Town Council is getting increased calls to reduce the deer population, and Kisiah's work group is scheduled to make a recommendation soon. Stanford says the concern that bowhunting is inhumane is "kind of an emotional card."

Stanford hunts with a bow, muzzle loader and gun, and was chosen as the N.C. Bowhunters
Association’s wildlife biologist of the year in 2008. He proposed and helped implement the state's urban archery program. It runs apart from the regular hunting season, in part because hunters already have favorite spots to hunt deer. By opening a new limited season inside town limits, the state program provides an incentive for hunters to focus on areas where local leaders say there is a problem.

"It can be very effective," he says. North Carolina has yet to have a case where a hunter shot a person with a bow and arrow while hunting. "It just doesn't happen," he says. The hunters typically are shooting within 20 yards after enticing the deer with bait. "It's a very safe activity."