Białowieża Forest is well known among environmentalists and wildlife enthusiasts around Europe and the world. It is the largest remaining part of the primaeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. This region, spanning Poland and Belarus, steaming with biodiversity, is designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. But the situation on the ground is rather worrying with continued logging and complex land management issues. To explain the current state of affairs and what can be ...
Apr 28, 2021•1 hr 35 min
Hunting in Africa is on the bucket list of many hunters. But for many that dream might seem very distant. Almost impossible. But as you will see in this conversation with Steve Scott , a veteran hunter, TV host, and producer of television hunting shows, this doesn’t have to be the case. Problems caused by the pandemic and related travel restrictions made the prices of hunts in Africa hit rock bottom. This combined with the progressive rollout of vaccines means that now might be the best time to ...
Apr 14, 2021•1 hr 57 min
The Amazon rainforest is the largest and most biodiverse tropical rainforest in the world. It represents over half of the remaining rainforests. It is home to countless species of insects, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. Not to mention the fish. Unfortunately, as we all can read and hear in the news, it is subject to unrelenting exploitation and destruction. I decided that my podcast would never be complete without talking about the Amazon. So, it was my great pleasure to sit down with ...
Mar 31, 2021•1 hr 46 min
In recent episodes, I have presented a whole host of views and opinions regarding rewilding, land management, and the need to change the way we coexist with nature. In this episode, we continue on that path, but with a guest, Dr Cathy Mayne, who has a particularly interesting perspective. That perspective might not be entirely aligned with the usual rewilding approach, but it is very well thought out, balanced and realistic. Cathy is an ecologist with vast experience in environmental management....
Mar 17, 2021•1 hr 34 min
In this episode, once again, we are going to talk about ecological restoration and bringing back species that were extirpated from their native range. Our guest is Chris Jones who is the Restoration Director at Beaver Trust. During our conversation, we discuss the history of Beaver Trust , how it was found and why. Then we discuss beaver ecology and the role of beavers in the ecosystem. Chris gives us some real-life examples of benefits that beavers bring, not only to the environment but also to...
Mar 03, 2021•1 hr 3 min
This time our guest is a wildlife biologist from across the pond. Matt Gould works for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology at New Mexico State University. Matt is also an avid hunter. This combination makes him a perfect guest for my podcast. Matt has done a lot of research and has written several papers on American black bears and that was the topic I was most interested in. However, we started our conversation by discussing birds of prey, their conservation status, and th...
Feb 17, 2021•1 hr 21 min
In this instalment of the podcast, our guest is a young scientist, Adam Francis Smith, who lives in the Bavarian Forest National Park. Adam specializes in large terrestrial mammal monitoring and predator-prey interactions. He also works for the Frankfurt Zoological Society where he focuses on specific project areas in Ukraine and Belarus and where, with a team of ecologists, he tries to protect large wilderness areas. During our conversation, Adam took us on a fascinating journey to, among other...
Feb 03, 2021•1 hr 34 min
Peter Cairns is an executive director of an environmental charity Scotland: The Big Picture, the first organisation in Scotland wholly dedicated to championing rewilding. We started our conversation by discussing the controversy surrounding the term rewilding. Since rewilding (for want of a better, less controversial, term) is of great interest to me, the discussion started to flow from there. After that, we discussed a wide range of related socio-economic and environmental issues. Finally, we e...
Jan 19, 2021•1 hr 32 min
I have wanted to record an episode about the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) and their work for quite a while now. Their excellent website, with a database where you can report sightings and strandings, was even mentioned in one of my vlogs. So today, it is my pleasure to bring you my conversation with IWDG’s Sightings Officer Pádraig Whooley. We started with discussing at length IWDG origins and their current work. After that, we dug deep into a whole host of interesting topics related to ...
Jan 05, 2021•1 hr 53 min
I don’t think that anyone who has at least dipped his toes in hunting needs to be convinced of how important it is to be in good physical shape to fully enjoy the experience. Strength and endurance come in handy not only when it comes to walking long miles in search of an animal with a lot of gear on your back but also during the extraction of the carcass. A critical component of keeping yourself fit and strong is correct nutrition. Luckily, a successful hunt itself helps you source healthy, cle...
Dec 22, 2020•1 hr 14 min
Climate change, in one way or another, is mentioned in almost every episode of my podcast. But with the exception of episode 38, which was a recorded public talk, I have never dedicated a whole episode to this important issue. But today we’re going to jump right into this subject with Ben Harkin who wrote a book about climate change in the Irish context. Ben is a young man who decided to put to good use the extra time he had available during the lockdown and wrote a book about climate change! No...
Dec 09, 2020•1 hr 23 min
In this episode, I had the pleasure to talk once again with scientists from SeaMonitor project. This time our guests were Dr Natasha Phillips and Dr Amy Garbett. Our conversation was focused on Basking Sharks but while at it we discussed a whole range of other subjects as well, like genetic connectivity, biotelemetry and bioinformatics. There is nothing like a conversation with scientists who are genuinely passionate about their work. If you are interested in marine biology, sharks and science y...
Nov 25, 2020•1 hr 7 min
This is yet another episode of the podcast where we talk about seals. This time I hit you with a healthy dose of unbiased, evidence-based knowledge. Actually, that’s not me doing the hitting but our guest Dr Sam L Cox who is a quantitative ecologist and researcher for the SeaMonitor project. In our conversation, we discuss the behaviour and spatial ecology of harbour seals which are tracked using GPS tags glued to their head. But that’s not all, Sam has done a lot of research studying other, mor...
Nov 10, 2020•1 hr 13 min
The benefits of being outdoors for our mental health and wellbeing have been discussed on the podcast a few times already. But this is a subject that is always worth revisiting. Especially when my guest’s impressive resume guarantees a fresh and well-developed approach. And so in this episode, our guest is Dr Ruth Allen, an outdoor and online counselling therapist, professional development coach, and experienced consultant, trainer and facilitator. During the podcast, we discuss the importance o...
Oct 27, 2020•1 hr 11 min
Not that long ago I wrote a blog post about angling for endangered fish species, including the common skate, which is highly sought after as a trophy catch. These elusive fish, however, are classified as critically endangered and unfortunately, we don’t have much information about their life history. So I welcomed the opportunity to talk with Dr Patrick Collins who is a marine biologist at Queen’s University Belfast where he works on large scale marine rewilding. Currently, he is focusing on tra...
Oct 14, 2020•1 hr 24 min
Byron Pace needs no introduction to most of you. He is a man of many talents: a filmmaker, photographer, writer and the host of the excellent Into The Wilderness and Into The Anthropocene podcasts. Given that we share many topics, and even guests, on our podcasts I was delighted to talk with Byron. During our conversation, we discussed the importance of hunters and anglers for wildlife conservation and education about the natural world. We also delved into the subject of rewilding. Obviously, I ...
Sep 30, 2020•1 hr 38 min
On Tommy’s Outdoors, we spend a lot of time talking about fish tagging programs and various types of research supported by them. But our guests today are taking this concept to an entirely new level. They are Ross McGill, the Principal Project Officer for SeaMonitor at Loughs Agency and Dr Fred Whoriskey, the Executive Director at Ocean Tracking Network. If research and monitoring of marine wildlife and the environment is your cup of tea you will be delighted to hear from these two gentlemen. Du...
Sep 16, 2020•1 hr 30 min
In episode 72 we started a discussion about seals in Ireland. As you might remember, at the time, I said that we wouldn’t get into the subject of human-seal conflict in that episode, as this is a complex subject that requires its own discussion. Since then, I’ve wanted to cover it from all angles but it has been difficult to find people willing to talk about it on record. Clearly there are a lot of emotions surrounding this issue. Then, one day, I received a call from Dan Brosnan, who is a frien...
Sep 02, 2020•1 hr 18 min
This is a really delicious episode for all hunters who want to learn about hunting in Sweden. Our guest, Andreas Michalik, is a Swedish hunter and fellow blogger at https://swedenishunting.com/ During the podcast we dig deep into what hunting is like in Sweden. We discuss regulations, the public perception of hunting and Andreas’ personal journey to becoming a hunter. We also talk in detail about hunting moose, bears, wolves, seals and many other species. After you are done listening to this epi...
Aug 19, 2020•1 hr 39 min
Ron Thomson should be well known to anyone interested in wildlife management on the African continent. He started his career as a game ranger in 1959. Throughout his career, he has worked in Africa's biggest and most prestigious game reserves. He has published fourteen books and we can safely say that he is one of the most experienced African big game hunters alive today. Ron is also the CEO of the True Green Alliance whose vision is to create a global society that is properly informed about the...
Aug 04, 2020•1 hr 26 min
This is yet another episode where my guest and I take on the subject of rewilding. This time our guest is the host of the discussion platform called Rewilding Ireland. During the podcast, we talk in length about various aspects of rewilding but we also talk about the future of the Rewilding Ireland platform. And towards the end of the podcast, we spend some time discussing whether or not megafauna should be a part of our rewilding efforts. Subscribe to Tommy's Outdoors: Conservation and Science ...
Jul 22, 2020•1 hr 34 min
A few weeks ago Inland Fisheries Ireland distributed an online survey through social media, looking to gather information from all Irish sea anglers. The survey was part of a new programme called the Irish Marine Recreational Sea Angling Survey or IMREC for short. IMREC’s aim is to show how fishing activities relate to stock levels. The collected data can improve the management of fish stocks and hopefully preserve them for future generations. Since this is an area of great interest not only to ...
Jul 08, 2020•1 hr 34 min
Is it possible to use artificial intelligence to tell us how rewilding will look in any area where it is implemented? Is it possible to create a computer model that would tell us how the species eradicated from the landscape hundreds of years ago would behave when reintroduced? Listen to my conversation with Kilian Murphy where we talk about such models. During the podcast, we discuss the possibility of reintroducing wolves and wild boars to Ireland, and the difference in perception of rewilding...
Jun 24, 2020•1 hr 2 min
In this episode, I talk with Mel Robinson who is the Director Of Animal Care for Seal Rescue Ireland. While listening to this episode you can learn what Seal Rescue Ireland is, how and why they are helping seals, as well as a few rather interesting facts about seals.In the podcast, we purposely did not delve into the issue of human-seal conflict. To me, it is a complex and interesting problem and I feel like it deserves to be discussed separately. Subscribe to Tommy's Outdoors: Conservation and ...
Jun 14, 2020•59 min
The European Federation for Hunting and Conservation, or FACE for short, is an international organization that represents the interests of European hunters. It serves as a bridge between the institutions of the European Union and hunters.In episode 59 I talked with Dan Curley, the chairman of NARGC, the Irish member organization of FACE. Today, however, we’re going to talk about hunting from the European perspective, with our guest, FACE Secretary General, Dr. David Scallan.During our conversati...
May 26, 2020•1 hr 4 min
As regular listeners to the podcast might remember, in episode 47 we hosted Matt Cross, a field sports journalist, writer and blogger. At that time, we talked about yet another unlawful killing of a hen harrier. That episode was specifically focused on the issue of raptor persecution and we didn’t have a chance to tap into Matt's vast knowledge about field sports.Today we’re going to fix that as we discuss a number of topics including grouse moors management, rewilding, the ethics of field sport...
May 12, 2020•52 min
Professor Adam Hart was our guest on the podcast not long ago, in episode 66. However, given the unusual situation we are going through globally, we decided to get together again just a few weeks later. The reason is to discuss the devastating effect the COVID-19 pandemic is having on wildlife conservation. Major sources of funding for conservation, like tourism and hunting, have dried-up overnight. And with the general turmoil and uncertainty, conservation enforcement has been weakened and poac...
Apr 28, 2020•44 min
Pádraic is well known to my podcast listeners. He was our guest in episodes 20 and 35. And in episode 62 I talked with Patrick Cross about his work inspired by Pádraic’s book. There have been many things I have wanted to talk with Pádraic about since our last podcast, which was a year and a half ago. So today I am pleased to bring you another conversation with Pádraic. We talk about rewilding, reintroduction of wolves and lynx and, last but not least, if there is a connection between the coronav...
Apr 14, 2020•1 hr 4 min
I had the pleasure to fish with Richard a number of years ago on the waters of Bjagos Islands archipelago in Guinea Bissau. That is without a doubt one of the highlights of my angling career. Richard runs World Sport Fishing, a fishing and shooting holiday outfit. So if you are after a bucket list angling experience, definitely check out their website or simply give them a call!I probably waited way too long to invite Richard to the podcast. But today, we finally sat down and had a chat about fu...
Mar 31, 2020•1 hr 25 min
The issue of African wildlife conservation is very complex and difficult. There are many factors that have to be considered, some of them are literally a matter of life and death. All that immersed in a highly emotional atmosphere. This subject is infinitely interesting to me. So, today I am delighted to bring you my conversation with biologist, broadcaster, academic and author, Professor Adam Hart . During the podcast, we discuss the elephant situation in Botswana, the role of rural communities...
Mar 18, 2020•1 hr 16 min
