After speaking on behalf of our members, supporters and all the fur-bearing animals of Canada as expert witnesses in a parliamentary committee last week, we wanted to share two important ways we can all represent for the animals.

We’ll hear from Camille Labchuk, animal rights lawyer extraordinaire and former Green Party candidate, to discuss the ins and outs of proportional representation – what it means for our country and how we can get fair representation in our parliamentary system.

Then we’ll talk with Kimberly Panzarella, owner and designer of FTLA Apparel, whose new line of Make Fur History shirts helps everyone represent the animals – and provide much needed support to The Fur-Bearers.

With Earth Day on the horizon it makes sense to take a step back from fur-bearer-specific issues and look at a subject plaguing the entire planet. What’s interesting, however, is that this issue does, in fact, relate back to fur-bearing animals.

For this week’s episode, we connected with Keegan Cuhn, a co-director of the popular and incredible documentary Cowspiracy. In what begins as a simple flick about water use and sustainability, Keegan and co-director Kip quickly discover that there is a much, much larger problem in the use of life-giving water around the world: animal agriculture. This massive and powerful industry is responsible for an uncanny level of damage to our planet and, of course, our wildlife.

In this interview, Keegan explored the building of the film – from the personal journey to the stonewalling by massive non-profits and how it changed his life – and may change the world.

On this week’s episode we’re focusing on two spring-related topics that come up every year – wildlife feeding and living with bears.

In almost every wildlife conflict situation we’ve studied, food is a central issue. Whether it’s intentionally feeding ungulates like deer or unintentionally feeding predatory animals like coyotes, the easiest and safest way to live with wildlife is to ensure we’re not feeding them. And Dr. Sara Dubois, the Chief Scientific Officer for the BC SPCA, has a plan – she wants to make wildlife feeding the new littering.

Being Bear Smart isn’t always something on our minds – but it certainly is easy to do once you understand the basics. Sylvia Dolson of the Get Bear Smart Society in Whistler, BC, joined Defender Radio to talk spring bears – what they’re up to, how they respond to us and what we can do to prevent conflict.

They are our best friends, our family and our own personal heroes. Dogs have become an everyday part of life for millions of Canadians – from sharing our homes and time to our pillows and hearts. With so many people profiting from this companionship and our quest to perfect the relationships between ourselves and our pets, there’s sure to be some bad eggs – little dogs with big barks, as it were. And then, there are those who rely on modern science, coupled with compassion, to find the truth about dogs – and how we can live fulfilling lives for both us and our canine companions.

One such modern saviour of dog lovers is Jean Donaldson. Born in Montreal, has become known as a pre-emptive authority on dog training and behaviour through her ongoing study and growth both the practice and science of her trade. Jean joined Defender Radio for a special, 50-minute interview to talk dogs, the evolution of behaviour models from B.F. Skinner to Walt Disney and beyond, breaking through the media hype of certain celebrity trainers, and even took time to answer questions from our listeners and supporters.