The trophy hunting of grizzly bears and culling of wolves have been hot topics in the news in recent years, and it’s only heating up. In British Columbia, we’ve partnered with LUSH Cosmetics and numerous conservation groups to let the public know they can formally comment on new policy proposals under the hashtag campaign #LeaveThemInPeace. In Alberta and Ontario, we’re constantly speaking against new policies to make it easier to kill wolves for unscientific and unethical reasons.

And when the world looks to see just who these animals are, they often see them through the eye of wildlife photographer John Marriott.

An accomplished and notable photographer based out of Banff, Alberta, John has donated his beautiful photos to numerous non-profits and sold them to major magazines like National Geographic. He has spent his life refining his craft and become a master story teller with his camera, often giving a unique look inside the lives of animal families deep in the Canadian wild.

He has also recently launched a new web series, appropriately named Exposed, which is already smashing expectations with high viewership and discussion.

To share more about his life as a wildlife photographer, his messages against trophy hunting and cruelty, and what will come next, John joined Defender Radio.

From host Michael Howie: I can’t speak for every animal-loving man out there, but when I stand and take a look at a magazine rack, there isn’t a lot for me. I love to cook and eat – but most of the magazines aren’t appropriate for me as a vegan; I like to work out and lift weights, but I don’t want to flip through pages of testosterone-fuelled rage; and pretty much every other lifestyle magazine for men tries to justify the stereotypical masculine status quo – something that I spend most of my time rallying against.

And that’s why I was thrilled to learn about Compassionate Man. As a vegan who has struggled with the realities of what modern culture expects of a man, Nicholas Coughlin found a way to express himself – and create a community for others. His young digital magazine, Compassionate Man, features lifestyle articles on a variety of topics, including cooking and recipes, exercise tips, diet, and interviews with big names like Gene Bauer and Bob Barker.

To talk more about this exciting new magazine and how he hopes to evolve the dialogue of how men view themselves, Nick joined Defender Radio.

We can’t be sure if you heard the news, but late last year, senate bill S-214 hit the media. It’s a bill that, if passed by both the senate and the House of Commons, would eliminate the use of animals in testing cosmetic products in Canada. We all cheered because it’s a huge win for the animals. But we also had a good think about it – because why are we still testing cosmetics on animals in the second decade of the 21st century?

Sadly, it isn’t just the cosmetics industry that uses animals to test their products in Canada. Everyone from medical researchers to veterinarians to grade 9 biology students are using animals. But they don’t need to.

The Animals in Science Policy Institute is a new non-profit organization that’s sole focus is to provide a “critical and constructive dialogue about the use of animals in research, teaching, and testing in Canada.”

To learn more about this fascinating organization and the important work they’ll be doing, in late December we connected with founding executive director Dr. Elisabeth Ormandy.

Last month there was a lot of hubbub in wildlife and animal welfare circles about two big legal news items: Quebec creating legislation to recognize animals as sentient beings, and the case against a woman whose business is to raise wolves in a petting zoo – then sell their fur when they die.

In our first episode of 2016, we’re bringing you interviews recorded in December that cover both of these important issues.

We’ll hear from Sophie Gaillard, an attorney and campaign coordinator with the Montreal SPCA to discuss changes in the Quebec national assembly, as well as Christopher Berry, an attorney with the US-based Animal Legal Defense Fund to talk about the case against the wolf farmer in Maine.