You must listen to this fascinating interview with Chris Genovali, the Executive Director of Raincoast Conservation Foundation. He is a leading conservationist, prolific writer, and major voice for the voiceless creatures of British Columbia. Chris shares the inside story of a hugely successful campaign that recently stopped trophy hunting of grizzly bears in British Columbia. With humor and clarity, Chris describes weaving a diversity of approaches involving science, economics, collaborative partnerships with First Nations, ethics and the law. There is so much to learn from the sophisticated, ingenious and big-hearted efforts for grizzlies in BC, that I could not cut down this gripping interview.
INTERVIEW EXCERPTS
"…if you’re not prepared to go all in for the long haul, you should probably find something else to do with your life."
"In Klemtu, the Kitasoo First Nation – it’s just an incredible success story with their ecotourism business there, and the beautiful lodge that they built, and the amount of employment it creates, and the quality good jobs."
"First Nations here are rapidly regaining agency over conservation and stewardship and land use and marine use -- and so that’s the dynamic at play."
"In British Columbia -- BC stands for “Bloodbath for Carnivores,” because if you look at the numbers, I mean it’s staggering -- like over 1,200 wolves a year are killed from hunting and trapping. In terms of how many black bears are killed, it can be anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000. It’s just enormous, 250 to 300 cougars…I think we’re hoping the grizzly hunt announcement is going to be a springboard for pushing to reform wildlife management in general."
"And I think also: don’t be afraid to talk about the ethical side of these issues. I think those are legitimate things to bring up. And if you think about it, what other realm of public policy, criminal justice, health, childcare -- you could go and on -- none of them operate in a vacuum where you don’t talk about ethics or morality. It only seems wildlife management is burdened with this ridiculous restriction that you can’t talk about ethics. And that’s not right and we need to change that."
READ MORE
Sciences Advances, March 7, 2018
By Kyle A. Artelle, John D. Reynolds, Adrian Treves, Jessica C. Walsh, Paul C. Paquet, Chris T. Darimont
Vancouver Sun, February 4, 2018
By Chris Genovali
Victoria Times Colonist, January 19, 2018
By Chris Genovali and Paul C. Paquet
Raincoast Blog, December 18, 2017
by Chris Genovali
Vancouver Sun, October 14, 2017
By David Suzuki, Faisal Moola and Chris Genovali
Victoria Times Colonist, November 12, 2017
By Chris Darimont, Kyle Artelle, Paul Paquet, Chris Genovali and Faisal Moola
