152: From Anti-hunter to Advocate with Philippe Jaeger

Hunting is a frequent topic on my podcast. It lies in the epicentre of the unnecessary divide in wildlife conservation space. It evokes strong emotions and is often the source of fierce debate and conflict. So today I’m bringing you my conversation with a man who has been on both sides of that argument. Philippe Jaeger is a hunting journalist who in his youth was a member of a radical anti-hunting group. I met with Philippe during the International Journalism Symposium in Paris where we, together with journalists from all over the world, had an opportunity to discuss issues around hunting and the sustainable use of wildlife resources.

It was abundantly clear to me that Philippe has an interesting and complex take on hunting and its current status in wider society. It is not all rosy as you might expect. And so we dive into a discussion about the ethics of hunting, hunting photos on social media, trophy hunting, social licenses to hunt, the connection between hunting and conservation and many other hotly debated subjects. Of course, I didn’t miss the opportunity to ask Philippe how he got involved in the anti-hunting movement and what made him change his mind. This is an important episode no matter which side of the hunting debate you are on.

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