Protect the Future of Hunting in B.C.

1/9

Industry may have to take a step back to preserve wildlife habitat

People have been harvesting wild, natural food from the lands and waters of British Columbia for thousands of years. Mothers and fathers still hunt, fish and forage to feed their families and pass on the skills of self-reliance to their children. The 400,000-plus licensed hunters and angler...

2/9

Letter to Minister Katrine Conroy related to bighorn sheep and goat hunting in Region 4

Jesse Zeman, Executive Director B.C. Wildlife Federation 101 – 9706 188th Street Surrey, B.C., V4M 3N2 Jesse.zeman@bcwf.bc.ca The Honourable Katrine Conroy Minister of Forests P.O. Box 9049, Stn Prov Govt Victoria B.C., V8W 9E2 FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca June 10th, 2022 Minister Katr...

3/9

B.C. turns its back on science with changes to wildlife management

The government of British Columbia has abandoned science-based wildlife with its decision to curtail hunting in the Peace-Liard region. Caribou hunting will be banned and moose hunting severely curtailed over roughly 22 per cent of the province under new regulations released this week. W...

4/9

The status of Grizzly Bears in B.C and why the hunt ended

There are a few isolated grizzly bear populations in southern B.C. that are struggling, but evidence suggests that most others have been increasing and are now becoming stable, are still increasing, or are relatively large and have likely been stable for decades. But although most populations are...

5/9

Bird’s-Eye View | BCWF within B.C.’s Wildlife and Habitat Management

The new year is a time of reflection and sometimes change. Gerry Paille BCWF Wildlife and Allocations Committee Chair has taken the opportunity to give a bird's eye view of the B.C. Wildlife Federation's position in wildlife, fish and habitat decision-making frameworks in British Columbia...

6/9

Public Engagement Results | Predator Reduction for Caribou Recovery

The results from the "Predator Reduction for Caribou Recovery Engagement" survey are complete. The final report is available here. Key results: 98% of respondents feel that caribou recovery is important 37% of respondents were in support of predator reduction measures 59% of respondent...

7/9

No Justification for Changes to Bighorn Sheep Regulations in Region 4

Please take a few minutes to watch the video below to hear our Executive Director, Jesse Zeman, discuss the various factors at play in the update to the proposed LEH draw for bighorn sheep hunting in the Kootenays. If you support that there is no science-based rationale in favour of moving from a...

8/9

When does selective hunting lead to evolutionary change and what (if anything) should we do about it?

Join us on Tuesday, January 18th, 2022, 6:00pm for the next edition of the BCWF’s Conservation Webinar Series. Marco Festa-Bianchet; Professor of Ecology; Head, Dept. of Biology; Université de Sherbrooke, will present on the topic "When does selective hunting lead to evolutionary change and what...

9/9

Engage now in hunting regulation proposals for 2022-2024

Public Engagement on Hunting Proposals is now open! The Wildlife and Allocations Committee is calling on members to provide their positive/negative feedback on hunting regulation proposals for 2022-2024! It is critically important that BCWF members provide their feedback on regulation proposal...

Act Now

Hunters have historically been among the strongest advocates for wildlife. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, widely recognized as the most successful model, was created by hunters and depends on them for its success. The future of conservation and hunting in British Columbia is at risk.

Studies & Resources

Check out the following resources in preparation to stand up for your right to hunt.

Read the study on “Understanding and avoiding misplaced efforts in conservation” by Adam T. Ford et al. linked below to learn about misplaced conservation and the impact of polarization and misinformation on conservation and biodiversity (see an excerpt of the study’s abstract below).

Abstract

Conservation relies on cooperation among different interest groups and appropriate use of evidence to make decisions that benefit people and biodiversity. However, misplaced conservation occurs when cooperation and evidence are impeded by polarization and misinformation. This impedance influences actions that directly harm biodiversity, alienate partners and disrupt partnerships, waste resources, misinform the public, and (or) delegitimize evidence…

Read the Study

Read UBC Okanagan’s article on a group of researchers, spanning six universities and three continents, who are sounding the alarm on a topic not often discussed in the context of conservation—misinformation.

The B.C. Wildlife Federation has reviewed the paper “Large carnivore hunting and the social license to hunt.” The paper infers hunters kill carnivores such as black bears for trophies and that only a minority hunt carnivores. A literature review related to hunters’ motivations and license sales in B.C. demonstrates this claim is unsupported by available evidence.

Jesse Zeman, Executive Director of the B.C. Wildlife Federation touches on the recently published study “Large carnivore hunting and the social license to hunt.” and provides guidance for hunters on talking about hunting with the public.

Watch the Video Learn More

On March 11, Dylan Eyers from the EatWild Podcast invited Jenny Ly with Chasing Food Club and volunteer with BC Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and Jesse Zeman, BCWF director for fish and wildlife restoration on to the podcast to try to understand what’s happening in our community. They talked about their interpretation of social licence and how the hunting community can build a social licence.

Tune In

The Rookie Hunter Podcast is brought to you by the Wild Sheep Foundation. It provides an entertaining and educational view into the complex world of hunting and conservation from the perspective of Kelly and Garrett, two B.C. hunters.

In the latest Podcast episode, Kelly and Garrett are joined by Jesse Zeman, Director Fish and Wildlife Restoration at the B.C. Wildlife Federation to discuss anti-hunting pressure in relation to black bears and large carnivores. The crew also catch up on the Southern Interior Mule Deer Project and Jesse and Garrett talk horse programs.

Listen Now Learn More