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Cornelius the Turkey
To start the show, we remember Cornelius the Turkey. He lived at the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary in Campbellville, Ontario, with his animal buddies, including Esther the Wonder Pig. It was always a joy to see his hilarious antics with his human and non-human animal friends on social media, showing the bold depth and humour of his lively personality (just like those of all animals)! Sadly, he passed away this week.
Amber Peters, Valhalla Wilderness Society, on the BC government’s changes to grizzly bear management
For our first interview, we are joined by biologist Amber Peters with the Valhalla Wilderness Society. VWS is a BC-based wilderness conservation organization, specializing in the creation of parks and protected areas for wildlife and ecosystems.
This July, the BC government put out a call for public commentary for a new draft Grizzly Bear Stewardship Framework that could actually see the return of the grizzly bear trophy hunt, which has been banned since 2017. This call for comments has been recently extended and goes now until October 6th.
As a scientist and wildlife advocate, Amber tells us more about how the Grizzly Bear Stewardship Framework could bring back the grizzly bear trophy hunt (as the ban was actually never legislated), and how to help stop this from happening.
To fill out the government’s questionnaire for feedback, as well as to act further by contacting the BC Premier and relevant Members of Parliament to advocate for the grizzlies, please see the Valhalla Wildnerness Society’s campaign page here – and remember that the deadline for survey submissions is October 6th!
Captain Paul Watson: Hitman For the Kindness Club: High Seas Escapades and Heroic Adventures of an Eco-Activist
For our feature interview, we have Captain Paul Watson on the show.
Paul Watson is a marine conservationist, master mariner, author, educator, and poet.
He is the founder of both the Captain Paul Watson Foundation and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and co-founder of the Greenpeace Foundation. He was born in Ontario, and has spent significant time living on the west coast of BC.
Paul has been described as the world’s most aggressive, determined, active, and effective defender of wildlife. He has received many commendations for his work, including named the recipient of the Genesis Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1998, listed as one of Time Magazine’s Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century in the year 2000, and commended by Connecticut’s Governor Ned Lamont for “50 years as an environmental conservation activist” in 2019.
A prolific writer, he has authored or co-authored more than one dozen books, including his latest published book entitled “Hitman for the Kindness Club: High Sea Escapades and the Adventures of an Eco-Activist.”
In this interview, Paul tells us about some of his life experiences as written in the memoir, such as swimming with beavers as a child in New Brunswick, fighting on the ice floes against the Mounties in Newfoundland (against the annual harp seal hunt), his anti-whaling campaigns in the “Whale Wars” in the Antarctica and, most recently, in the Faroe Islands, and more!
He shares his thoughts on the state of our political systems as they relate to animals and the planet, and what is happening these days in a climate with warming oceans, fires, floods and other environmental destruction.
And he leaves us with hope and determination for future activists to never give up! This interview is not to be missed!