For more than a decade, Mike Moser was one of the people defending the international fur industry.

As a senior director with the International Fur Federation and later CEO of the British Fur Trade Association, Moser visited fur farms around the world, evaluated animal welfare standards, and defended the industry to politicians, journalists, and the public.

But over time, what he saw on those farms began to challenge what he believed about animal welfare. In 2018, he resigned from the industry, and today works with Humane World for Animals, campaigning to end fur farming and the fur trade.

What changed his mind? And what can someone who spent more than a decade inside the industry tell us about its practices, its public messaging, and its future?

Mike Moser joined us to discuss his journey from industry defender to animal advocate, the realities of fur farming, and what it might take to bring the industry to an end.

SHOW NOTES

Cover image of a fox on a Quebec fur farm by Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals

Articles by Mike Moser:

• I used to work for the fur industry. Now I'm fighting for animals. — Humane World for Animals, September 2, 2025.
• It's inherently cruel: former fur industry boss now backs total EU ban — EUobserver, May 21, 2026.
• I used to defend and promote the fur trade – now I want Boris Johnson to outlaw it — The Independent, May 7, 2022.

Take Action to End Fur Farming in Canada: https://www.furfarming.ca/

AI Disclosure: The transcript for this interview with Mike Moser was generated using Vibe, an artificial intelligence (AI) transcription tool, with AI assistance used to correct obvious transcription errors. Some errors may remain; please refer to the audio for the original conversation. Learn more about The Fur-Bearers' AI Policy.

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

When Berta, a five-year-old livestock guardian dog, was killed in a snare near her family's home outside Williams Lake, BC, her family was devastated.

Victoria Savile, Berta's owner, is a hunter and longtime resident who never knew active snares could be set so close to her home. Now, she's calling for better public warnings and stronger trapping regulations.

On this episode of Defender Radio, Victoria shares Berta's story, the impact on her family, and why she hopes speaking out will prevent other families from experiencing the same tragedy.

SHOWNOTES

The Fur-Bearers article: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/dog-killed-in-bc-trap-as-safety-regulations-considered/

Pets in Traps: https://thefurbearers.com/our-work/commercial-trapping/trapping-incidents/

How to Release Your Pet From A Trap Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n45s9ynd3E

Moon's Law: https://thefurbearers.com/moonslaw/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

British Columbia is the birthplace of the Bear Smart program – an approach that's now influencing communities internationally. But across the province, encounters between black bears, grizzlies and people can still lead to bears being killed. We know many of these encounters are preventable. Decades of research have helped us understand why conflicts occur and what communities can do to reduce them. So why isn't this knowledge being put into practice?

Earlier this year, freedom of information requests by The Fur-Bearers revealed a provincial Bear Smart program in disarray. In September, delegates at the Union of BC Municipalities convention called for provincial funding and staffing to be restored. With a provincial election approaching, what happens next remains uncertain, while the consequences for bears continue.

Dr. Lana Ciarniello, a bear researcher whose 30-year career includes helping establish BC's Bear Smart program, joins Defender Radio to discuss the challenges bears face in British Columbia, the policy changes that could give communities and bears a better chance at coexistence, and what her recent research reveals about rehabilitating and releasing orphaned grizzly bears.

SHOW NOTES

Photo by Jillian Cooper / Getty

Dr. Lana Ciarniello at Global Bear Conservation: https://globalbearconservation.org/About/leadership_page/40

Dr. Lana Ciarniello ResearchGate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lana-Ciarniello

Study: Evidence for a metabolic trap and habituation limiting post-release survival of orphaned grizzly bears: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/411161478_Evidence_for_a_metabolic_trap_and_habituation_limiting_post-release_survival_of_orphaned_grizzly_bears

Plain language article on study: https://www.frontiersin.org/news/2026/08/03/orphaned-grizzly-cubs-released-wild-rarely-make-it-improve-chances

The Fur-Bearers article on Bear Smart: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/status-of-bear-smart-surprises-bc/

The Fur-Bearers article on UBCM response: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/clear-message-from-ubcm-reactivate-bear-smart/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

Fishers – Pekania pennanti – are secretive, forest-dwelling members of the weasel family found across parts of British Columbia. But the Columbian population in BC's central interior is small, isolated, and facing serious pressure from habitat loss, wildfire and trapping.

Rich Weir is a senior wildlife biologist with Artemis Wildlife Consultants who has spent much of his career studying fishers and other carnivores in British Columbia. His research has helped us better understand where fishers live, how their populations are connected, and what they need to survive.

Rich Joined Defender Radio to talk about what makes fishers unique, what new genetic research is telling us about the Columbian population, and what needs to happen to help these animals recover.

SHOW NOTES

Episode art of Fisher in Olympic National Park (reintroduced from BC in 2008-10), by Jess Hoffman, National Park Service

Learn more about Rich Weir, his publications and Artemis Wildlife Consultants: https://artemiswildlife.com/

Learn more about the BC Fisher Habitat Working Group: https://bcfisherhabitat.ca/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

Hamilton's urban tree canopy currently sits at about 18 per cent, and the City has set a goal of increasing that to 40 per cent by 2050.

That matters for people — but it also matters for wildlife. Trees provide food, shelter and movement corridors for many of the fur-bearing animals who share our urban neighbourhoods, from squirrels and raccoons to skunks and other species.

A new pilot project from the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Naturalists' Club is helping grow that habitat by bringing free, professionally planted native trees into backyards in lower-canopy neighbourhoods.

To learn more about the program, I spoke with Jen Baker, General Manager at the Hamilton Naturalists' Club, and Louise Thomassin, Senior Project Manager, Forestry and Horticulture with the City of Hamilton.

SHOW NOTES

Hamilton Naturalist's Club: https://hamiltonnature.org/
City of Hamilton' Urban Forest Strategy: https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/environmental-stewardship/environmental-plans-strategies/urban-forest-strategy
HNC Backyard Tree Planting Pilot: https://hamiltonnature.org/backyard-tree-planting/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

For more than 60 years, researchers have been studying generations of yellow-bellied marmots in Colorado, creating one of the longest-running studies of wild mammals in the world. Dr. Julien Martin is a professor of biology at the University of Ottawa and one of the researchers now leading that project, studying how marmots respond and adapt to changes in their environment.

But keeping a decades-long research project going takes more than good science. When traditional research funding became uncertain, Julien and his colleagues tried something a little different: they launched OnlyMarms, an OnlyFans account dedicated entirely to marmots.

What followed was a surprisingly successful experiment in science communication, fundraising and the internet's apparently limitless appetite for charismatic rodents.

In this episode of Defender Radio, we talk with Dr. Julien Martin about the value of long-term wildlife research, what marmots can teach us, and what happens when scientists have to get creative to keep their work going.

SHOW NOTES:

Episode Art of Kite the Yellow-Bellied Marmot by Laura Green / Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory

Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Marmots Page: https://sites.lifesci.ucla.edu/eeb-rmbl-marmots/

RMBL Marmots on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rmblmarmotproject/

OnlyMarms main page: https://onlymarmssolana.org/

Dr. Julien Martin's OnlyMarms GitHub: https://juliengamartin.github.io/onlymarms/

UCLA Coverage of OnlyMarms: https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/onlymarms-rodents-are-baring-a-bit-of-fur-for-science

Winner of Fat Marmot Week Coverage: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/fat-marmot-week-9.7327200

Dr. Julien Martin's University of Ottawa page: https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-science/professors/julien-martin

The Fur-Bearers' Wildlife Campaigns and Advocacy Manager Tijana S and Science Communicator and Researcher Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin join the Defender Radio podcast to talk Jimothy, wild animal welfare science, how our use of space impacts wildlife, and a new study on coexistence stats worldwide. Plus a bit of fun and laughter as host Michael Howie is taught more about science, as always.

SHOW NOTES:

Screengrab of Jimothy by Instagram user c1vrgr1 with permission.

Etymology: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/language-and-linguistics/etymology
Entomology: https://entsoc.org/about/what-is-entomology
Ethology: https://www.britannica.com/science/ethology

More about Jimothy: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/jimothy-captured-our-hearts-now-we-need-to-give-him-space/

More about grizzly bears and how our space impacts them: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/sharing-space-with-bears-how-our-behaviour-shapes-encounters/

Sci Comm article, Whose Welfare Counts? The Science of Wild Animal Welfare: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/whose-welfare-counts-the-science-of-wild-animal-welfare/

Sci Comm article, Human–Wildlife Conflict: Insights from 220 Studies in 47 Countries: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/human-wildlife-conflict-insights-from-220-studies-in-47-countries/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

Over 21,000 people were evacuated from Summerland, British Columbia, when the Bald Range fire rapidly grew to over 156 square kilometres. Among the thousands of homes that were impacted or destroyed by the wildfire is Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society.

The volunteer-run organization, led by founder Eva Hartmann, focuses on water birds, bats, reptiles, and small mammals like beavers, otters, and muskrats. When the call to evacuate came in Eva and her partner chose to enact the Interior Wildlife evacuation plan – and saved all the animals in their care. Tragically, the Interior Wildlife facilities were destroyed by the wildfire. Now, the Interior Wildlife team is launching a fundraiser to rebuild when the time is right, and get back to helping wildlife who need it most.

To share more about Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society, the impact of the wildfires, how the team is managing, and what's next, Defender Radio is joined by volunteer Ryan Elisabeth Cope.

SHOW NOTES

Cover image by E. Hartmann/IWRS

Donate to IWRS Rebuilding Effort: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/interior-wildlife-rehabilitation-society/

Learn more about IWRS: https://interiorwildlife.ca/

Find IWRS on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/p/Interior-Wildlife-Rehabilitation-Society-100064551319807/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/interiorwildlife/?hl=en)

BC 2-1-1 Wildfire Resources: https://bc.211.ca/wildfires/

BC SPCA Wildfire Animal Support: https://spca.bc.ca/bc-wildfire-animal-support/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).