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On this episode of Gritty Bowmen I talk with Shane Mahoney. Shane Patrick Mahoney is the President and CEO of Conservation Visions Inc.. A Newfoundland native, he holds both an Honors and a Masters of Science degree in Zoology from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Mahoney has over 30 years experience working primarily as a scientist, wildlife manager, policy innovator and strategic advisor.

Shane is a brilliant and passionate conservationist. And he has been working on a massive project called \u201cThe Wild Harvest Initiative.\u201d Shane explains it like this: Safe, healthy food is important to everyone. Every year, some 40 million citizens in the United States and Canada take to the fields, mountains, forests, streams, and lakes, returning with a harvest of wildlife and fish to feed their families and share with friends. Just how much of this natural, organic food do these two nations provide annually, and how valuable is it to our societies? At this point, no one really knows. \u201cIt\u2019s time we did know,\u201d said Shane Mahoney, founder and CEO of Conservation Visions, Inc., a private conservation organization focused on building broader coalitions in support of biodiversity and the natural world. \u201cWe\u2019ve known for well over a century that conservation of the world\u2019s ecosystems is critical to human well being and that the sustainable use of wild resources brings enormous and unique benefits to human beings everywhere.\u201d

On november 30th of this year, British Columbia says it will no longer allow the trophy hunting of grizzly bears in the Canadian province.

Of the approximately 15,000 grizzlies in British Columbia, about 250 are killed by hunters annually, according to government figures.


Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Minister Doug Donaldson characterized that level of hunting as \u201csustainable\u201d in an interview with the CBC.

However, he says the decision to end trophy hunting is \u201cnot a matter of numbers, it\u2019s a matter of society has come to the point in B.C. where they are no longer in favour of the grizzly bear trophy hunt.\u201d

The key word in the above statement is \u201ctrophy.\u201d As stated, the population of Grizzly Bears is robust and the harvest rates are sustainable; but regardless of these facts, Grizzly Bear hunting has been banned by the voice of the people. And something that was \u201clegal\u201d is not legal anymore. I\u2019ve been saying this for a long time, legal is not an argument for hunting. As Steven Rinella recently said, \u201cit\u2019s legal for a man to cheat on his wife but nobody believes that makes it okay.\u201d

Why did 90% of the electorate vote against \u201ctrophy hunting Grizzly bears?\u201d If you\u2019re a hunter, are you surprised by this vote? Is hunting even a relevant activity in today\u2019s world? Why do people despise trophy hunting? What is trophy hunting? How have hunters in the United States and Canada portrayed hunting in the last 20 to 30 years? What motives and values do we display and promote on our TV Shows and Social Media Outlets? Does it matter? If we send the wrong message, what\u2019s at stake?

These are the sorts of questions that Shane tackles on a regular basis. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to personally visit with Shane and have him as a guest on this podcast.

I hope you listen to this entire podcast and that it causes you to feel an increased measure of concern for wild animals and wild places. For, \u201chunters of have an inseparable relationship with nature and a responsibility to protect it.\u201d