Feature: The Fur-Bearers

What is the organization’s primary mission, and what are the daily ‘micro-actions’ the team takes to move closer to that goal?

Established in 1953, The Fur-Bearers is a non-partisan, registered charity that protects fur-bearing animals through conservation, advocacy, research, and education.  

Our work helps create a shift toward modernizing wildlife policy and governance. Beyond publishing original articles weekly, our work includes reviewing scientific studies, conducting public opinion polls, and responding to media requests. Regular communication with all levels of government allows us to seek accountability and push for vital legal and policy reforms. This outreach extends to video content, a monthly podcast, presentations for schools and community groups, and various webinars and events.

Additionally, we print and distribute educational materials, prepare reports, launch awareness ads and campaigns, and work hard to keep our supporters informed and engaged. Never a dull moment!

What are the most significant milestones or ‘traction points’ the organization has achieved since its founding?

Trap line footage: We were first to publish film footage and documentary features on Canadian trap lines depicting animals suffering in the 1970s. Our footage was aired on TV and shown around the world. It would lead to global outrage, societal attitude shifts, and eventual policy changes.  

European Union lobbying: In the 1980s and 90s, former directors George and Bunty Clements addressed the European Parliament, which helped trigger international pressure on Canada regarding the cruelty of leg-hold traps.  

Comprehensive reports: We work with researchers, experts, and others to write and deliver reports on issues such as dogs and cats in traps, impacts of fur farming, solutions to fur farming, impacts of wildlife feeding, and more. 

Impacts on fur farming: Our research helped lead the province of British Columbia to banning mink fur farming due to the public health risks.  

Legal actions: We’ve gone to court against on issues of wildlife several times, including against the Province of British Columbia, the Province of Ontario, the Province of Quebec, and others. 

The agency responsible for killing hundreds of black bears (on average) per year in British Columbia now proactively releases data, sorted by community, after years of The Fur-Bearers advocacy.  

Conferences and education: we’ve hosted numerous Living With Wildlife events online and in person, which bring together municipal leaders, landowners, and experts to hear about coexistence solutions and how to implement them. 

The Clements Awards: We established a program that celebrates photographers, leaders, advocates, and researchers who demonstrate outstanding achievements and efforts in protecting fur-bearing animals.

What are the most persistent challenges the organization faces in today’s economic or social climate?

Like everyone else, The Fur-Bearers faces ongoing economic pressure as inflation continues to rise, and as the affordability crisis can negative impact on people’s ability to donate. At the same time, the need for our work continues to grow. Wildlife policy reform moves incredibly slowly and is often influenced by industry – yet crises arise and need immediate response to support communities and local wildlife.

Reflecting on a recent organizational setback, what did it reveal about the team’s resilience or the organization’s adaptability?

Our small team can pivot hard when issues arise – or even when timelines become difficult to manage. For example, while undergoing our annual review and planning processes, and concurrently with our calendar year-end financial obligations to donors, we had four different issues pop up that included intense media focus (20+ unique mentions) and required rapid response in both government communications and support for a grieving family seeking justice. Though this created stress within the team, we were able to meet all of the challenges and support each other.

Every organization has quirks. What are five unique, ‘imperfectly perfect’ traits that give this organization its specific character?

1. We’re unapologetically persistent – We aren’t afraid to have hard conversations with government officials, launch a legal battle, or leverage mainstream media!  

2. Humble roots – The Fur-Bearers was built on a shared dream, we fuss over our supporters and particularly have a soft spot for our seniors who been with us for decades.  

3. Comfortable having a solo voice – we’re the only group in Canada dedicated to protecting fur-bearing animals by focusing largely on ending fur farming, and we’re okay with that!  

4. We combine heart and head – we can show deep concern for animals that is also supported by legal analysis, regulatory review, and data-driven advocacy.  

5. We challenge legacy narratives – many of the laws, policies, and attitudes that shape our relationship with wildlife were built on “tradition”. We’re happy to buck the status quo to bring modern lenses to improving outcomes for fur-bearing animals.

In an advocacy-heavy field, what core values keep the organization motivated during difficult seasons?

Our team is generally persistent by nature. We enjoy our work and are perpetually finding new and creative ways to advocate for our animal friends. Our supporters keep us grounded, and when times are hard, they remind us of why we do what we do. We’re all motivated by the change we create.

In your communications, how does the organization ensure that the individual stories and personalities of the animals (or people) remain the focus, rather than just treating them as statistics?

We start by listening – understanding, to the best of our ability, what individuals have experienced and need. From there, we try to amplify voices, we become the conduit for the stories as opposed to the story itself. It’s never about populations or just statistics, we seek to centre out the individual, we put the focus on individual people and individual animals. We’re also mindful of the graphic images we share, we use care to ensure they have context and aren’t being used for their shock value. We also create censored versions that people must actively click to see the uncensored version.

Who are the ‘unsung heroes’ within your organization—human or otherwise—whose contributions are vital but rarely seen by the public?

The success of our organization belongs to the people before us – from the 1950s and onwards – who would create a strong foundation on which our current staff could build. Our supporters, particularly seniors, who handwrite cards, call us, send us encouraging notes, and keep us all grounded and supported.

Beyond your primary mission, how does the organization encourage the public to practice compassion in their own daily lives?

The Fur-Bearers encourages compassion in daily life by trying our best to do the same and lead with it: we regularly discuss mental health as a priority (internally), we publish content related to compassion fatigue and burnout, we provide tips for effective advocacy, and we’ll even develop games and puzzles (educational ones) for some fun. Our team encourages everyone to take intentional breaks from the gloom and doom of the world. Because emotional bandwidth matters, we do our best to be mindful of that within our content. This means avoiding graphic images and videos, publishing regular good news stories, and celebrating compassion whenever it’s found.

How do you see the organization’s work connecting to other social justice or environmental movements?

The Fur-Bearers’ work is centred around animal protection, but it intersects easily with other social justice issues and movements. Common themes that come up in our work relate to power, control, social and colonial constructs, and oppression. All of which can be found within other movements seeking change.

Can you share a story of a time when the organization’s work inspired a ‘ripple effect’ of compassion in a supporter or a member of the community?

In the 1960s, George and Bunty Clements had their own encounter with traps in rural British Columbia. Their research (and threats against them for tampering with a dangerous trap), led to their volunteering with, and ultimately leading, The Fur-Bearers for decades. Even today, well over 10 years after their deaths, we hear from people who first heard about us through George and Bunty, or have a story of the power couple to share. There are genuinely too many accounts of this to share. Today, we honour George and Bunty with our “Clements Awards”, held biennially to celebrate how people are making an impact for fur-bearing animals in their communities.

In what ways do you feel The Honest Whisper successfully amplifies the types of stories your organization cares about most?

Hearing how other people are managing through difficult times, or what solutions allowed others – even if it’s notably different from our own – to move through problems. This can inspire our own solutions and lead to greater understanding and growth for everyone.

If we were to collaborate on a deep-dive feature, what aspect of your work (or the movement at large) do you think the public needs to understand more deeply?

There are many important scientific reports about wildlife that sit behind paywalls or remain in academic spaces, out of reach for most people. By using our collective platforms to amplify the positive developments and research emerging over the past few years, we can help make that evidence accessible and actually useful. Good science should inform policy, influence daily choices, and shape how we manage habitats! 

One topic that deserves deeper public understanding is the so-called North American Model (NAM) of Wildlife Conservation. NAM is the framework most provincial governments rely on when creating wildlife policy. It is widely treated as standard practice, yet it is rarely understood or examined critically. Breaking down its assumptions, limitations, and real-world impacts would help advocates speak to politicians with stronger evidence and open the door to more modern approaches to wildlife governance.

Follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram @furbearers or their linktree.

Support The Fur-Bearers through volunteering, a personal donation (tax-deductible), or a workplace donation.

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