In a recent “Archery Wire” newsletter, my friend Jay Pinsky penned a feature article about his recent hunting trip to Croatia. No, it wasn’t a bow hunt — because there is no bowhunting in Croatia, or in many other parts of the world.
“What’s important to understand,” Jay writes, “is that Croatia is not anti-hunting. They simply do not trust bows the way Americans do.”
“Part of that is history. Europe never experienced the modern bowhunting movement North America did. Part of it is ethics — critics there argue bows increase the risk of wounding loss and animal suffering. Part of it is public perception and politics.”
“Bowhunting rights are not universal, and they are not guaranteed.”
Croatia is not alone. Bowhunting is illegal for any game animal in Sweden, Norway, Germany, Austria, Great Britain and others. Of Europe’s estimated 7 million hunters, fewer than 20,000 use archery equipment. Sweden banned bowhunting in 1938, the same decade our industry helped establish America’s first archery deer season in Wisconsin.
Nearly 90 years later, Sweden has still not reversed that decision. Denmark banned bowhunting in 1967 and took more than 30 years to restore even a limited version of the right. Russia classified archery gear as “sport” equipment under Soviet-era law, keeping bowhunting illegal until 2020. In Australia, multiple states have banned it outright, with more potentially to follow.
Much of the world still looks at bowhunting with skepticism. That is simply the truth.
And in the United States — where we have built something the rest of the world envies — that skepticism is being organized, funded, and aimed directly at us.
In Oregon right now, activists have submitted roughly 121,000 signatures in an effort to place Initiative Petition 28 — the so-called PEACE Act — on the November 2026 ballot. The measure would strip existing exemptions from Oregon’s animal cruelty statutes, effectively making hunting, fishing, trapping, and livestock slaughter felony offenses. Its own proponents acknowledge they don’t expect to win in 2026. Their stated goal is to use the campaign to shift public opinion and build the organizational infrastructure for future victories. They are patient. They are funded. And they are watching how we respond.
In America, bowhunting exists today because generations before us fought to prove it could be ethical, conservation-minded, and worthy of respect. They built hunter education programs. They established standards. They represented the sport with discipline and humility.
That responsibility now belongs to us — and was the reason ATA started Bowhunters United — a group of bowhunting activists ready to step forward and defend against threats to bowhunting right here in America.
Every animal we shoot carries the reputation of bowhunting with it. Every recovered deer, every clean pass-through, every ethical decision made in the field is a vote for our sport’s survival. So is every wounded animal left behind, every corner cut, every moment of carelessness or arrogance in the field. Our opponents don’t need a majority of the public to support them. They only need enough doubt.
The freedoms we enjoy as American bowhunters can absolutely disappear if we fail to protect them. That protection comes from sportsmanship, humility, discipline and respect for the animals we hunt — as well as our willingness to stand against those who would take those freedoms from us.
Thank you for your continued partnership.