South Australia's Attorney-General has agreed to review laws surrounding the use of compound bows, after a brutal animal cruelty case in which a cat was shot four times with a bow and arrow.
Compound bows are commonly used in archery and have the force to fire lethal shots.
Currently, there are no restrictions around compound bows in South Australia - they are legal, and their purchase, possession and distribution are not monitored under firearms laws.
But the lack of regulation has now gained the attention of the legal profession, after Adelaide Hills man Shannon Aubert was convicted over what a magistrate described as a "barbaric" act of cruelty.
The Adelaide Magistrates Court heard "George" the cat was shot four times and eventually euthanased in July last year, but not before suffering significantly from its injuries.
RSPCA prosecutor Ronan O'Brien and magistrate David McLeod both expressed concern that compound bows were not being regulated in the same way as guns and crossbows.
"It would be a matter for ministers and the Parliament [and] we can only encourage [Parliament] to give some consideration to regulating those weapons," Mr O'Brien said.
The RSPCA case follows an incident in May this year, where a junior police officer was allegedly shot in the upper thigh by a man carrying a compound bow.
At the time, a senior police officer said the encounter could have been fatal for the policeman.
Case warrants review of 'devastating' weapons: Rau
Following that incident, the State Government said pulling compound bows into the current firearms licensing scheme would cause unnecessary harm to a "bona fide sporting community" - archers.
"These bows are used safely as an item of sporting equipment on a regular basis and as such, there is currently no intention of listing archery bows as prohibited weapons," Police Minister Peter Malinauskas said at the time.
But Attorney-General John Rau has now said he would consider tightening the law.
"I can see some issues around how you manage [compound bows], because obviously we don't want to interfere with sport," he said.
"I think it's important that we get some balance in this [but] I think this case certainly warrants us taking a look at it.
"Many otherwise safe objects are very dangerous if misused - kitchen knives and other things, if misused, can be devastatingly effective weapons."
There have been calls to ban compound bows in other Australian states, following incidents of native wildlife being shot and killed.
Archery SA has been contacted for comment.
