Biologist defends deer bowhunting

The state's deer biologist says bowhunting is not inhumane, as some opponents of a proposed deer hunt in Chapel Hill claim.

Chapel Hill parks director Butch Kisiah has said one concern raised 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. Kisiah's work group is scheduled to make a recommendation soon.

Evin Stanford, the state's deer biologist, said on occasion 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.

Stanford hunts with a bow, muzzle loader and gun, and he was named 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 said. The hunters typically are shooting within 20 yards after enticing the deer with bait. "It's a very safe activity," he said.

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