FROMTHEPUBLISHER
L
ooking back on 2017, Wild Guide
had a busy and eventful year.
From testing some new fishing
rod brands (page 35) to spending
time in the field with the all new
Winchester SX4, to sponsoring
events,
competing
in
tournaments,
harvesting, dressing and butchering wild
game and cooking up some spectacular
recipes (page 46).
2017 has also been an eventful year for
outdoorsmen in general both in Canada and
around the world. We are starting to see the
movement and agenda of anti-hunters come
to the foreground and actually begin to affect
our rights adversely.
We remember Melania Capitan who,
allegedly, took her own life after being brutally
terrorized by anti-hunters. Whether or not the
abuse was the cause, it sadly ramped up after
her passing with commentators praising her
death as karma and celebrating her passing.
In recent months in Canada we have seen
an outright ban on hunting grizzly bears
in BC. (page 33) This decision was made
because, according to BC Forests Minister
Doug Donaldson “It is no longer socially
acceptable to the vast majority of British
Columbians to hunt grizzly bears...”
This is troubling to hunters for many
glaring reasons. Not only does it represent
the slippery slope under our harvesting rights
across the board, it also presents a threat to
many guides who make a living this way. We
fear what happens when someone decides
its no longer socially acceptable to hunt
anything.
Interestingly, and in contrast, in a 2015
Report of the Standing Committee on
Environment and Sustainable Development
published under the authority of the speaker
of the house of commons we read that “the
animal rights movement poses a concern
to the hunting and trapping community.
A photo from our spectacular waterfowl hunt
hosted at Harvest Lodge in Waterhen, Manitoba.
www.huntharvestlodge.com
3
Wild Guide
. Winter 2018
They felt that animal rights legislation or
policies are not based on sound science
and should not impose arbitrary bans or
changes to hunting or trapping practices.”
So how is it come to be then that, only 2
years passed, we see an outright, arbitrary
ban on grizzly hunting in BC?
Though maybe this should not come as a
surprise after seeing the uproar unleashed
following the sexually abusive explosion
on twitter toward a hunter who legally and
ethically harvested a cougar. The real shock
was that this attack came from the wife
of the prime minister who was in office at
the time the aforementioned report was
published.
We feel its time to start pouring into our
local government offices to make sure our
rights will be protected in the future against
similar arbitrary bans.
To read more about this and other
important issues, visit wildguide.ca/news.
All that being said, we are excited for what
2018 has in store for us, and for you as well.
So keep sending us your stories and photos
(page 50) and remember to follow us on
Facebook and Instagram to keep tabs on
what we’re up to.
Wild Guide Publisher and CEO
Brad McCann
Photo by Amy McCann