Filmed in Alberta, Canada, the ‘shameful’ killing has been blasted by both animal rights campaigners and big game hunters
A BLOODTHIRSTY former javelin thrower has been slammed by animal rights campaigners after filming himself killing a huge black bear with a SPEAR.
Filmed in Alberta, Canada, the disturbing video shows sick hunter Josh Bowmar slaughtering the wild animal with a homemade weapon – causing the beast to suffer a slow and painful death.
Bodybuilder Bowmar, 26, who was an All-American javelin thrower at university, is filmed stabbing the bear with a 7ft spear which was fitted with a GoPro camera.
The gruesome clip also features the hunter, from Columbus, Ohio, lifting up the animal's corpse while its intestines pour out of its stomach.
The fitness fanatic, who uploaded the footage to his YouTube channel, is filmed cheering with joy, proclaiming: “I just did something I don’t think anybody in the world has ever done.”
The cruel killing, which took place in May, was been blasted by big game hunters and animal rights campaigners who claim the death could have lasted for up to 20 hours.
Speaking with The Mirror, Masha Kalinina, of Humane Society International, said: “The glee with which the hunter celebrates spearing the bear’s vital organs is a cheap act for the camera and the sick fans of this YouTube channel.”
Bowmar, who owns a fitness company, and his guides reportedly found the animal’s bloodied corpse the day after the killing as the bear ran away with spear impaled inside its body.
According to reports, the long, thick weapon was embedded two feet into the colossal beast which weighed around 28 stone and was 7ft 1in in height.
Fellow hunters have also hit out at the footage calling the act ‘shameful’.
One hunter wrote on popular US hunting website Outdoorhub: “I’ve been hunting for 56 years and this video was disgusting.
“It’s mindless jackasses like this performing shameless ‘stunts’ that attempt to glorify the hunter, but by doing so demean the game animal, that give all the anti-hunters the arguments they need to hate us.
“Shameful spectacle of pseudo bravado. Stop focusing on yourself and show some respect for the animal.
"If you want to take an animal humanely (which you obviously could care less about) then shoot it with a rifle.”
Bowmar’s wife Sarah, who is a former vegetarian, savagely killed another bear with a bow and arrow the day before her husband’s controversial kill.
On their YouTube channel, Bowmar Bowhunting, the pair say they “love travelling the world and hunting big game with bow and arrow only. We seek after the biggest most challenge game that walk this Earth.”
Bowmer boasted online about the spear hunt, saying: “I just speared a bear. I’ve worked so hard. This is crazy. That was a huge bear. I can’t believe that just happened. He’s going down. I drilled him perfect.
“That was the longest throw I thought I would ever make. I mean, that was a 12 to 15-yard spear throw. On the ground. No blind. No back-up. We have no shotguns within miles of here.”
The former college athlete told The Mirror that the killing was “humane”.
He said: “First and foremost, spear hunting gives the animal the greatest chance of escape, considering our ethical killing range is within 10 yards.
“The bear I speared only ran 60 yards and died immediately, that’s as humane and ethical as one could get in a hunting situation on big game animals.
“Trust me, no one cares more about these animals than us hunters, especially me.”
But animal campaigner Kalinina insisted the killing was an act of “pure selfish bloodlust”
She said: “Lured to a trash bin full of bait in the middle of a clearing, the bear is obviously searching for food, only to be heartlessly slaughtered for fun.
“No one could argue there is any skill involved here, no exhibition of hunting prowess, and certainly this has nothing to do with conservation, as trophy hunters often argue.
"This is pure selfish bloodlust, a desire for a thrill and a trophy at the expense of an innocent life.”
This shocking incident comes after the controversial death of Cecil the Lion who was killed by US dentist Walter Palmer in July, 2015.
The American hunter killed the elderly lion using a bow and arrow resulting in an excruciating death which reportedly lasted for 40 hours.
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