Defender Radio and The Switch

The sun is shining, the rain is washing away the last of the snow, and families are hitting the trails and sidewalks with their four-legged companions and that means it's time for some spring training. Whether you share your home with a young puppy or a senior dog, getting out and reviewing the basics like sit, down, stay, and a good recall (coming when called) is a great idea, both for the safety...

Steven Wise stood up in a New York court room to make his case last week. It's something he's worked toward for years, and so far, the courts haven't supported his efforts. But Steven knows that his clients need him – because they simply can't speak for themselves. Steven is the founder and president of the Non-human Rights Project, and his clients are chimpanzees being kept in confinement. The go...

Raccoons are the enemy, and green bins are the battlefield. At least, that's how some Torontonians view an ongoing saga between themselves and the furry neighbours that so successfully live in Canada's largest city. Attitudes on raccoons in the Greater Toronto Area are split surprisingly evenly, but due to their problem-solving skills the sneaky fur-bearers do make it into the news and even politi...

Spring is in the air. Well, right now it is. Later today, it might be snow. Or hail. Or summer. It's been a bit hard to tell exactly what to expect in regards to the weather, but one thing is certain – we're in a season of change. As the weather changes, we'll also be seeing changes in the behaviours of all sorts of life – from spiders spinning new webs, to birds stretching their wings and picking...

Talking about conflict isn't always easy. Emotions can be high – the sight of a large animal can be unnerving and cause instinctual fear reactions, and the loss of a family pet can be devastating for an entire community. Frequently, the emotional upheaval leads to a desire to find a problem – and a coyote can be an easy target. Though the science showing the lack of effectiveness of lethal control...

What happens when you put 20 international scientists in a room for two days to talk about human-wildlife conflict resolution? You get the seven principles for ethical wildlife control. The BC SPCA and UBC's Animal Welfare program (funded by the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies) hosted a two-day workshop in 2015, which brought together scientists from around the world to look at these sub...

There is a war on wildlife in the United States, waged with federal dollars at the behest of large lobby groups. It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but there's no hiding the nefarious truth about this one. The United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA, has a small offshoot called the wildlife services program. This division has, for decades, slaughtered wildlife – to the tune of 500 animal...

Culling grey seals on Canada's east coast will not help the recovery of Atlantic Salmon populations. That's what the science says in a report prepared for the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. But that committee, in opposition to all things good and logical, has said they are recommending the government undertake a cull of grey seals to aid the recovery of wild salmon. K...

Compassion is something we at The Fur-Bearers talk a lot about – but how do we speak with compassion? And, in a world of seemingly massive cultural, social, and political divides, is it worthwhile? Compassionate communication is a concept that's been around for some time – it frequently includes the use of self-awareness, empathy, and honest self-expression. In the case of The Fur-Bearers, it is o...

Stopping wildlife conflict, protecting individuals, and ensuring co-existence can be a struggle after development. But it can be a whole lot easier if you incorporate it into the planning stages, and that's exactly what Dr. Lael Parrott hopes to accomplish. The UBC professor recently spoke to the Kelowna Capital News about her work in the region to create wildlife corridors as part of the developm...

The Little Smoky caribou herd is in trouble, and the Alberta government is gearing up for a plan that scientists and advocates claim will only waste money – and could actually harm wildlife populations. Less than 100 of the ungulates remain, and unless something is done, the population – and the species itself – could disappear from Canada forever. Studies have shown that the greatest risk to the...

If you see a dog sit down and pant, are they smiling, or showing anxiety? If they roll on their back, is it submissive, or simply an ask for a belly rub? And what, possibly, do these questions have to do with how we communicate messages of greater social change? A conversation on dog behaviour and our perception of it – namely, focused on the upsetting incident of a polar bear killing a dog around...

Jaclyn Penney's family is in mourning. Their beloved dog, Doug, who had been with them only six months, died in front of Jaclyn's mother from the unrelenting crush of a snare trap in November. While out for a walk on their dead end, residential street near Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Doug wandered only several feet from the side of the road when he activated the snare, quick...

The Rowels family was trying to find a home. But when they arrived in a tiny town in southern Bulgaria, they found their calling: finding homes for street dogs. The heartwarming story began with Diane and Tony Rowels looking for a change in their family's life. The couple moved themselves and their children to Rudozem, Bulgaria, where they hoped to perhaps open a café. Instead, they became protect...

Two cougars killed by the Conservation Officer Service in a coastal community in British Columbia created quite the stir this week. Social media and the traditional media were fascinated by photos captured by a resident, Gladys Miller, showing the juvenile cougars hunting a seal, and lazing about the tiny town of Ocean Falls. The decision to kill the cougars, who the conservation officers say were...

"Don't tell me, show me," is a way of noting that actions mean more than words. And maybe it's a lesson Canadian parliamentarians need when it comes to fishermen and seal hunters in eastern Canada. Sheryl Fink, director of Canadian Wildlife Campaigns for IFAW, today published an article on the Huffington Post about a small private members' bill from the Senate that represents a big problem. Bill S...

The frightening reality is that British Columbia has no species at risk or endangered species laws on the books. Species at Risk legislation is what it sounds like – policies that are put in place to protect all species that's population is deemed, scientifically, to be in a precarious position within an environment. This can range from aquatic plant life to terrestrial mammals, and small flowers...

Cougars are persecuted for the typical reasons: they're large carnivores that, when they come into conflict with people or places people live, can do significant damage. Add on the instinctual fear we have of large predators, the media's love of sensationalizing stories about wildlife, and it all starts to make sense. But one study is challenging the way we should be looking at cougar-related conf...

Ninety-one percent of people in British Columbia oppose the trophy hunting of grizzly bears, from all demographics and geographic regions. Economic studies have shown that grizzly bear viewing is the future of ecotourism in British Columbia, significantly outperforming the guided hunts. And First Nations people – on whose traditional land many of the hunts take place – are condemning a government...

The status of wolves is a contentious subject these days. Between myths and fact, depredation and trophic cascades, it seems that every opinion is equally right, and wrong. It only follows that when it comes to making policy about wolves, that paradox would follow. A perfect example of this comes from Ontario, where the newly-identified Algonquin Wolf was given threatened status over summer. The g...

It seems that much of society has lost its grip on what words like facts or theories actually mean, and how they should and shouldn't be used. It becomes particularly concerning, however, when these words get used incorrectly in popular media or in discussions about policy affecting wildlife and the environment. Even amongst advocates we see misuse of scientific terms, or arguments that aren't as...

Though it has been a rough week for animal advocates, I'm very pleased to be starting this new season with a message of hope. On Wednesday, October 5, Bill C-246 - the Modernizing Animal Protections Act – was defeated in the federal House of Commons. The private members bill, which was put forward by Toronto-area MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, would have updated the criminal code as it relates to bes...

The word science is often used as a shield when discussing wildlife policies, particularly management of predators in relation to depredation. Whether it's governments, lobbyists for hunters and trappers, or even some wildlife protection advocates, the word can get flung around so much you'd think there's an endless well of studies on the subject. But there's a surprisingly small amount of reliabl...

When it comes to skunks, most of us have one of two images in our head. The first is the stinky animal we avoid at all costs. The other… well, the other is a little unrealistic. The striped predators are surprisingly charming, playful, and loving animals – from a distance. And as a common fur-bearer in urban areas, they can often end up getting into trouble. Fortunately, there are wildlife rehabil...

Woodland caribou aren't doing too well in Alberta. Two herds specifically, those in the Little Smoky and A La Peche ranges, are at risk of extirpation, or local extinction. Under federal endangered species legislation, Alberta is required to take action. Sadly, this has put wolves in the crosshairs of poor policy and planning. Recently, a proposal that would lengthen the campaign of wolf killing i...