Mink fur farms are a virus’s favourite place. There’s lots of opportunity to transmit, mutate, and lead to more virulent strains that threaten public health. With the devastating economic impact of H5N1 or avian flu in the news, the reintroduction of the Mink Virus Act to the United States Congress is well timed.

To share what this legislation is about, why it matters, and how people on both sides of the border can support it, Devan Schowe, Campaigns Associate for BornFree USA joins Defender Radio.

SHOW NOTES

Photo of a mink on a Canadian fur farm by We Animals.

BornFree USA's Mink VIRUS Act page and action: https://www.bornfreeusa.org/2025/03/19/great-news-mink-virus-act-reintroduced-in-congress/

BornFree USA on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/bornfreeusaorg
BornFree USA on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bornfreeusa
BornFree USA on Tiktok: http://www.tiktok.com/@bornfreeusaorg
BornFree USA on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/bornfreeusa

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

Anyone who follows John E. Marriott or Exposed Wildlife Conservancy on social media knows that a cougar John had tracked for many years was killed near Canmore, Alberta, earlier this year. It led to two orphaned kits, a harrowing experience for John, and a clear mission: to share this story with the public and lead to change for wildlife in Alberta. To give us the story from the very beginning and what he wants to see happen next, John Marriott joins Defender Radio.

SHOW NOTES:

Photo of the orphaned cougars provided by John E. Marriott / WildernessPrints.com

Exposed Wildlife Conservancy: https://www.exposedwildlifeconservancy.org/

John's Photography website: https://wildernessprints.com/

EWC on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSN6XzS07gO8xNxLWFGJY5Q

EWC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exposdwc/

EWC on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/exposdwc/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

Fifty years ago this week, Canada officially made beavers one of our national symbols. In celebrating this anniversary – and the many ecological services and benefits provided by beavers – The Fur-Bearers have a bit of beaver fever.

And who better to talk to about beavers than Ben Goldfarb, the journalist behind Eager: The Surprising Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. This book has made big waves since it landed in 2018, and Ben joins Defender Radio to share how he started out writing Eager, what he loves about beavers, his newer works, and how we can look to beavers for hope in uncertain times.

SHOW NOTES:

Cover photo by jamesvancouver / Getty Images

Ben Goldfarb's website: https://www.bengoldfarb.com/

More about Eager: https://www.bengoldfarb.com/eager

More about Crossings: https://www.bengoldfarb.com/crossings

Ben on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bengoldfarb.bsky.social

Learn more about Canada's 50th anniversary of the beaver as a national symbol from The Fur-Bearers at: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/celebrating-beavers-50th-anniversary-as-canadas-symbol/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

Canada’s iconic wildlife include moose, beavers, and wolves. But of the many species of vertebrate, which are the most evolutionarily distinct? And why does that matter?

A team of researchers from Simon Fraser University (emma Kominek, Olivia Cornies, Arne Ø. Mooers, and Wildlife Preservation Canada's Hannah McCurdy-Adams) explored these questions in their paper, Evolutionary isolation of Canadian terrestrial vertebrate species, published in the journal The Canadian Field-Naturalist. The final list included some not so surprising results – like beavers being near the top for mammals, and some unusual species that aren’t commonly known, like mudpuppies, an amphibian that can be found in a relatively small range of southern Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

To share more about the paper, how the species lists were developed, and why it’s important for conservationists to learn about, study coauthor Emma Kominek joins Defender Radio.

SHOW NOTES:

Episode photo by Chuck Miller / Getty Images

Evolutionary isolation of Canadian terrestrial vertebrate species: https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v137i4.2673

SFU's coverage of the study: https://www.sfu.ca/science/news/2024-news/move-along-moose--sfu-study-reveals-the--most-canadian--animals.html

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

Whether you’re heading south to escape the cold, across the provinces for an adventure, or just a town over for a quick getaway, there are a lot of choices we can make while travelling for March Break that reduce our impact on the environment – and can even improve it.

SHOW NOTES

Episode art photo by Petmal / Getty Images

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio and The Switch? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael), Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio), or Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/defenderradio.bsky.social).

Defender Radio and The Switch is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Twitter (www.twitter.com/furbearers) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

The journey of Takaya the Lone wolf on Vancouver Island was one of hope, inspiration, and ultimately tragedy. Cheryl Alexander, acclaimed conservation photographer and Founding Executive Director of Takaya’s Legacy has shared her story countless times – but this past year the story took a new twist.

An iconic photo of Takaya, taken by Cheryl, was used by a wolf hunting guide’s website without permission. This not only created a social media outrage, but put the spotlight back on the pressures facing wolves in British Columbia and the need to connect public belief with policy. To share these updates and explore the impact the misuse of Takaya’s image had both personally and publicly, Cheryl Alexander joins Defender Radio.

SHOW NOTES:

Photo of Takaya by Cheryl Alexander

Takaya's Legacy website: https://takayaslegacy.com/

Takaya's Legacy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/takayalonewolf

Takaya's Legacy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/takayalonewolf

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

Winter salt keeps sidewalks safe but harms Ottawa’s waterways. A five-year study shows toxic chloride levels in local streams year-round. Learn how to reduce salt use, protect aquatic life, and keep winter walkways safe.

SHOW NOTES:

Episode art photo by EyeEm Mobile GmbH / Getty Images

Check out Ottawa Riverkeeper's work on salt monitoring and reduction: https://ottawariverkeeper.ca/sign-the-road-salt-reduction-pledge/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio and The Switch? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael), Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio), or Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/defenderradio.bsky.social).

Defender Radio and The Switch is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Twitter (www.twitter.com/furbearers) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

North Atlantic Right Whales are at extreme risk of extinction, with only around 370 individuals and around 70 reproductive females. According to RightWhales.org, over 142 individuals have been injured or died since 2017 – a shocking 35% of the current population.

Fortunately, individuals like Sheryl Fink of the International Fund for Animal Welfare or IFAW are working hard to collaborate and find solutions to protect this endangered whale species, who can be found off the coast of Canada. To share more about how North Atlantic Right Whales reached such critically low levels, what the largest impacts on their populations are, and how scientific collaboration can lead to solutions, Sheryl joins Defender Radio.

SHOW NOTES:

Episode art credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Image taken under NOAA Research Permit 665-1652 (link to original use).

Find more about Sheryl and IFAW's work to save North Atlantic Right Whales at: https://www.RightWhales.org.

Find IFAW on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifawglobal/

Find IFAW on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ay3hmpazay7ndzmbxcyfasb7

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).