Defender Radio and The Switch

By Michael Howie / The Fur-Bearers

What's Defender Radio and The Switch about?

Defender Radio and The Switch bring experts and solutions to wildlife advocates and animal lovers around the world. Hosted by award-winning journalist Michael Howie, Defender Radio and The Switch are produced by The Fur-Bearers (TheFurBearers.com) and released weekly. Learn more at DefenderRadio.com

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Defender Radio and The Switch episodes:

04.22.2024
The Emotional Lives of Animals with Dr. Marc Bekoff
Making an emotional connection to a non-human animal is a defining moment in many peoples’ lives. It could be the family dog, a squirrel who hops past a window every day, or a black bear known to meander through a...
04.15.2024
VICTORY: Fighting Ag-Gag in Ontario with Camille Labchuk
Investigations into farms by animal advocacy groups is an essential tool to exposing serious, systemic abuses of animals, failures to follow basic policy, and have led to criminal charges. But the Ontario government wanted to stop that – and introduced...
03.25.2024
Depaving Hamilton with Green Venture
A concrete laden Barton Street runs the distance of lower Hamilton, marking the transition from residential housing to commercial and industrial spaces – what many people think of when they hear Steel City. But along this busy street something magical...
03.18.2024
Humane Canada's Summit for Animals
If you don’t already have passes to Humane Canada’s Summit for Animals May 5 to 7 in Halifax, you’re going to miss out on an awful lot! The annual event is organized by Humane Canada, the national federation of humane...
03.11.2024
The Art of Simone Diamond
Simone Diamond is a Coast Salish artist who creates art pieces in the Coast Salish style. You may have seen Simone’s designs featured on products from companies like Native Northwest, on her popular Instagram account, or in The Fur-Bearers’ kids...
02.12.2024
The Lives of Wild Dogs with Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin
Improving the lives of dogs across Canada and around the world is a hefty goal – but by talking about the lives of wild dogs, Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin is getting closer to reaching that goal every day. Dr. Fraser-Celin, who...
02.05.2024
The Switch: Winter Planting for Wildlife
It’s grey, generally cold, damp, and rather unpleasant in early February across Canada. Fortunately, it’s a great time of year to get outside and start planting! Now, I know I’m out on a bit of a limb here, but late...
01.29.2024
Trapped In The Past Documentary Series with John E. Marriott
Killing neck snares are cruel devices that experts and scientists have shown to be ineffective and inhumane. Yet they remain common across Canada. A new documentary series, Trapped In The Past, is challenging why killing neck snares remain legal to...
01.22.2024
Plant-Based Eating Gets Edgy with Candice Hutchings
Eating a plant-based diet is a great way to be healthy and reduce your impact on the environment and climate crisis. Making the change can be intimidating, especially if, like me, you grew up on meat and potatoes. Fortunately, folks...
01.15.2024
The Switch: Rain Barrel Benefits
Are you an active gardener looking for ways to reduce your impact on the local environment? Rain barrels are a great, accessible place to start! Join me for a quick conversation about the known - and perhaps less known -...
01.08.2024
Return of the British Beavers
Beavers are incredible animals who have complex social lives, engineer essential ecosystems, and can help us develop climate resilience. In Canada, beavers were nearly wiped out by fur trappers, but their populations slowly returned, though not to their pre-colonization levels. But...
12.18.2023
The Switch: Zero Waste Gifting
Gift giving is wonderful and generous, but around the holidays can generate a lot of waste. Dr. Elisabeth Ormandy (TEDx speaker, UBC Professor and zero waste enthusiast) is making The Switch to zero waste gift giving! These tips can make a...
12.11.2023
Can AI Save Tigers? with Dr. Jeremy S. Dertien
Tigers are at risk of extinction around the globe. But in India, hard fought conservation has seen the population double since 2006. While this is fantastic news, it does create new challenges to face: such as how to manage poachers,...
11.27.2023
Climate Grief with Dr. Shawna Weaver
Some days are hard. The world feels like it’s falling apart, forests are burning, ecosystems are breaking down, and hope can be a long, long way away. But you’re not alone in this feeling – and there are ways to...
11.20.2023
The Switch: Share the Love on Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is a huge opportunity for non-profits and charities across the country to raise desperately needed funds to keep campaigns going. But Canadians are giving less overall to charities – and that means Giving Tuesday is even more important....
11.13.2023
Are Canadians Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
Wolves are iconic, majestic and absolutely essential apex predators. But what do Canadians think about wolves? That was the primary question driving a survey developed by Drs. Valli-Laurente Fraser-Celin and Stephanie Rutherford in conjunction with The Fur-Bearers earlier this year....
11.07.2023
The Switch: Defeating Winter Drafts
Political leaders from across the spectrum have debated the taxation and cost of home heating in Canada recently; while noses are thumbed back and forth, there’s a couple easy steps we can all take in our homes to reduce our...
10.30.2023
Primates Are Not Pets with Dr. Jake Brooker
Any time spent watching chimpanzees is valuable; they show tool use, complex social structures and behaviours, and, according to the latest science, are often quite adorable. It’s no surprise that humans are fascinated by chimpanzees, as we share 98.8 percent...
10.16.2023
Rescuing Saskatchewan's Wildlife with Bonnie Dell
Wildlife rehabilitators are incredible people: they dedicate their time, personal or professional, to assisting wild animals who are injured or orphaned. It takes a lot to successfully navigate the provincial bureaucracies, fundraising, administration, and volunteer wrangling – let alone actually...
09.25.2023
The Beaver Institute with Adam Burnett
Beavers are an essential animal to the North American landscape. They create and maintain wetlands that are home to at-risk and endangered species; they clean runoff from agricultural lands; they sequester carbon; they improve habitat for salmon and other fish...
09.11.2023
Dogs Demystified with Dr. Marc Bekoff
We spend our lives with dogs, sharing joy, sorrow, companionship, and often surprisingly deep friendships. But often, we can be perplexed by our best friends’ behaviours, or make assumptions about why they’re barking, rolling over, or refusing to let you...
12.19.2022
The Squirrel Who Stole Solstice (repost)
This is a repost from last year's popular Defender Radio Solstice Special! The Squirrel Who Stole Solstice was written and directed by Marisa King. Starring Kristi Boulton, Marisa King and Michael Howie. Original holiday carol by Julian Sark. The Squirrel...
12.12.2022
The Switch: Choosing Ethical Beauty and Skincare Products
Ethical skincare expert Tricia Stevens of batch skincare joined The Switch to share tips on how to identify ethical and sustainable ingredients and products while choosing skincare and beauty products. batch skincare, launched by industry experts with decades of experience,...
10.24.2022
Green Infrastructure with Dr. Anna Zakrisson
Solutions to the climate crisis are multifaceted and require innovative thinking. It also means the way we’ve been doing things, particularly with development, need to change. Imagine the vast array of asphalt, concrete, tar shingles, and metals that cover cities;...
10.17.2022
batch skincare featuring Tricia Stevens
batch skincare launched this year and are already making an impact. The freshest skincare on the planet, every batch is made to order, has no preservatives or harsh chemicals, and uses vegan, fair-trade, organic and cruelty-free ingredients! The company, launched...
10.10.2022
The Switch: Fairtrade Fashion with Kemp Edwards
Fairtrade is a recognized sustainability term worldwide. Did you know that fairtrade practices are also applied in fashion? Kemp Edwards, sustainable business expert, President & CEO at Econic Apparel and Ethical Profiling, and Principal at Vert2Grow, joins The Switch to...
10.03.2022
Talking With Bears with Ellie Lamb
It’s a common saying, that animals have no voice. But they do – they can be quite proficient at communicating their needs. It’s more that humans have forgotten how to listen. This is a reality Ellie Lamb, bear viewing guide...
09.09.2022
'Heartbreaking' Inside Quebec Fur Farms with Camille Labchuk
Two fur farms in Quebec are at the centre of a complaint filed by Animal Justice after they received images from We Animals Media. The photos, captured in August 2022, show deplorable conditions for mink and foxes. The Montreal SPCA...
08.15.2022
The Switch: Rodent Proofing Your Home with Erin Ryan
Second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) are being banned in jurisdictions around the world due to the harm they cause ecosystems and individual animals. Fortunately, rodent proofing your home or business is a humane solution that's also great for the environment!...
08.08.2022
P.E.A.C.E. is Supporting Farmed Animal Sanctuaries
Farmed animal sanctuaries are a place of healing and hope. But the creation and management of a farmed animal sanctuary can be an overwhelming process with lives at stake. Sarien and Hugo Slabbert in 2019 started the charitable People Ensuring...
07.25.2022
The Mini-Forest Revolution with Hannah Lewis
Rewilding the world is an important step in combating climate change; recreating ecosystems and habitat can’t happen soon enough. Fortunately, a lot of solutions are already available – including the Miyawaki Method of using mini-forests to reforest the world. Mini-Forest...
07.18.2022
The Switch: How Bear Door Hangers Save Lives with Aaron Hofman
Large wildlife such as bears and coyotes are often killed for being around human places and accessing anthropogenic food sources. But simple educational tools to let communities know how to coexist with wildlife exist - and are accessible for free...
07.11.2022
Burnout and Asking For Help with Stephanie McMahon
Content/Trigger Warning: This episode discusses subjects of burnout, self-care, self-harm, suicide, and mental health. I recently connected with Stephanie McMahon, a registered psychotherapist in Ontario, who happens to also be a wildlife rehabilitation centre volunteer, to talk about what burnout...
06.27.2022
Wildlife Attractant By-Law Toolkit
If a tool existed that would reduce negative encounters with wildlife in your municipality, would you implement it? I think most listeners would – and a toolkit is now available that can actively help residents do just that. The Wildlife...
06.20.2022
The Switch: Urban Meadows with Dr. Anna Zakrisson
Green lawns and pavement do little to help the ecosystem, but finding ways to incorporate essential meadows in urban centres can make a significant impact. Dr. Anna Zakrisson, a green infrastructure researcher and science communicator, joins The Switch to give...
06.13.2022
Rodenticides with Erin Ryan
Rodents – mice, rats, squirrels and the like – are found all across Canada. At some point, pretty much every homeowner or building owner will be confronted by two little eyes and a twitchy nose, and need a solution. For...
04.26.2022
Repost: Monitoring the Illegal Wildlife Trade and Canada's Role
This is a repost of a past episode. New episodes will be streaming by June 2022! The illegal wildlife trade is significantly broader and includes far more species than most people think; and Canada is seemingly playing a role....
03.31.2022
Springing Into April
It’s the beginning of spring and the end of the eighth season of Defender Radio! As The Fur-Bearers’ fiscal year rolls over, my attentions are needed in strategic planning and communication work. For a few weeks, I’ll be sharing some...
03.21.2022
Humane Canada's Summit for Animals
Humane Canada’s Summit for Animals is approaching, and it’s sounding like it’s going to be their best yet. The annual conference is going to include in-person events in Banff, Alberta in conjunction with a broad variety of online presentations. Formerly...
03.07.2022
MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith on Bill C-247
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal MP for Beaches-East York, in February introduced Private Members Bill C-247, An Act to prohibit fur farming. This Act, if passed through the House of Commons and Senate, would end commercial fur farming in Canada at the...
01.10.2022
The Switch: Bird Safe Windows with Anouk Hoedeman
You can save the lives of birds and keep your local ecosystem healthy by making a simple switch with the easy solutions suggested by Anouk Hoedeman of Safe Wings Ottawa. Links: Safe Wings Ottawa at http://safewings.ca/ Safe Wings Ottawa on...
12.21.2021
The Squirrel Who Stole Solstice
The Squirrel Who Stole Solstice was written and directed by Marisa King. Starring Kristi Boulton, Marisa King and Michael Howie. Original holiday carol by Julian Sark. The Squirrel Who Stole Solstice was written and Directed by Marisa King! Marisa voiced...
12.13.2021
The Switch: Zero Waste Gift Giving with Dr. Elisabeth Ormandy
Gift giving is wonderful and generous, but around the holidays can generate a lot of waste. Dr. Elisabeth Ormandy (Executive Director of Society for Humane Science, TEDx speaker, UBC Professor and zero waste enthusiast) is making The Switch to zero...
12.06.2021
Frances Backhouse: Beaver Tales to Bear Necessities
Frances Backhouse is a well-regarded naturalist and journalist, as well as the author of several books on beavers, including Once They Were Hats. Though known for much of her work on beavers, Frances has also written about several species of...
11.29.2021
Giving Tuesday Special!
Get details on the incredible matching gift challenge and how you can be a producer of the new trapping documentary! Learn more about the Trapped In The Past documentary project and donate now by clicking here or going to www.DefenderRadio.com/trapped....
11.22.2021
Trapped In The Past
Giving Tuesday Challenge: For the week of Monday, November 29 to Friday, December 3, 2021, all donations to this project will be MATCHED up to $10,000 - but only if we hit the $10,000 goal! Learn more and donate now...
11.15.2021
The Switch: Placemaking and Little Free Libraries
Placemaking and little free libraries go hand in hand to help residents make a switch in their community. Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff of the Victoria Pocket Places Project joins The Switch to explain how the idea of placing making and...
11.08.2021
Monitoring the Illegal Wildlife Trade and Canada's Role
The illegal wildlife trade is significantly broader and includes far more species than most people think; and Canada is seemingly playing a role. Dr. Chris Shepherd, Executive Director of Monitor Conservation Research Society, is working hard to research and expose...
11.01.2021
The Switch: Hugelkultur and Biodiversity, with Sam Ceci
Samantha Ceci is helping create biodiversity in a monocultured woodlot by switching to Hugelkultur! Sam, a Master of Resource and Environmental Management Candidate at Dalhousie University, utilized the German horticulture method to increase biodiversity – and therefore create habitat for...
10.25.2021
Coyote Portrayals in Media, Ten Years Later
Portrayal of interactions between humans and coyotes, content analysis of Canadian Print Media 1998-2010 isn’t the most enthralling of titles. But the study below it had a significant impact on my career and how I perceive and engage with media....

What's Defender Radio and The Switch about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Defender Radio and The Switch episodes:

The Emotional Lives of Animals with Dr. Marc Bekoff

VICTORY: Fighting Ag-Gag in Ontario with Camille Labchuk

Depaving Hamilton with Green Venture

Humane Canada's Summit for Animals

The Art of Simone Diamond

The Lives of Wild Dogs with Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin

The Switch: Winter Planting for Wildlife

Trapped In The Past Documentary Series with John E. Marriott

Plant-Based Eating Gets Edgy with Candice Hutchings

The Switch: Rain Barrel Benefits

Return of the British Beavers

The Switch: Zero Waste Gifting

Can AI Save Tigers? with Dr. Jeremy S. Dertien

Climate Grief with Dr. Shawna Weaver

The Switch: Share the Love on Giving Tuesday

Are Canadians Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

The Switch: Defeating Winter Drafts

Primates Are Not Pets with Dr. Jake Brooker

Rescuing Saskatchewan's Wildlife with Bonnie Dell

The Beaver Institute with Adam Burnett

Dogs Demystified with Dr. Marc Bekoff

The Squirrel Who Stole Solstice (repost)

The Switch: Choosing Ethical Beauty and Skincare Products

Green Infrastructure with Dr. Anna Zakrisson

batch skincare featuring Tricia Stevens

The Switch: Fairtrade Fashion with Kemp Edwards

Talking With Bears with Ellie Lamb

'Heartbreaking' Inside Quebec Fur Farms with Camille Labchuk

The Switch: Rodent Proofing Your Home with Erin Ryan

P.E.A.C.E. is Supporting Farmed Animal Sanctuaries

The Mini-Forest Revolution with Hannah Lewis

The Switch: How Bear Door Hangers Save Lives with Aaron Hofman

Burnout and Asking For Help with Stephanie McMahon

Wildlife Attractant By-Law Toolkit

The Switch: Urban Meadows with Dr. Anna Zakrisson

Rodenticides with Erin Ryan

Repost: Monitoring the Illegal Wildlife Trade and Canada's Role

Springing Into April

Humane Canada's Summit for Animals

MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith on Bill C-247

The Switch: Bird Safe Windows with Anouk Hoedeman

The Squirrel Who Stole Solstice

The Switch: Zero Waste Gift Giving with Dr. Elisabeth Ormandy

Frances Backhouse: Beaver Tales to Bear Necessities

Giving Tuesday Special!

Trapped In The Past

The Switch: Placemaking and Little Free Libraries

Monitoring the Illegal Wildlife Trade and Canada's Role

The Switch: Hugelkultur and Biodiversity, with Sam Ceci

Coyote Portrayals in Media, Ten Years Later