Outcry builds over video showing spear-hunted bear

An online video showing an American hunter spearing a black bear and leaving the animal to die in the Canadian woods has prompted outrage and calls to ban the "archaic" practice.

The video was posted on Youtube recently, but the killing appears to have occurred in May near Edmonton, Alberta.

"The type of archaic hunting seen in the recently posted video of a hunter spearing a black bear... is unacceptable," Alberta's environment and wildlife ministry said in a statement.

It pledged to introduce a ban on spear hunting in the coming months. In the meantime, Alberta fish and wildlife officials have been asked to investigate the incident.

In the video, the hunter - identified by Canadian media as a former competitive javelin thrower Josh Bowmar from the United States - jumps out from behind a hunting blind and hits the bear with a seven-foot spear. The animal had been lured to the area with food.

The video included several angles of the spear attack, including on using a camera mounted on the weapon.

The hunting party departs as night falls, and returns the next morning to find the dead bear some 50 meters from where it had been hit.