Most people have probably never heard the name of Semi Bird, but Semi is a former green beret who is running for Governor of Washington in 2024. He catches up with Robbie about not only his life and ambitions to bring back common sense, but about being a staunch proponent of hunting, even though he comes from a non-hunting background.

Mark Hall, Executive Director of Blood Origins CANADA and our sister show at the Hunter Conservationist Podcast joins this week’s podcast to talk about Canada’s new wildlife trophy import ban, what he is seeing from an ‘on-the-ground’ perspective and the cascading effect it could have on both hunting and wildlife all over the world - even in Canada!

The question that was posed was - why do you guys always hunt old males? The question was indirectly why do you always hunt the things with the biggest horns / antlers? There is a lot of questions around why hunters hunt old males? It's often tied to the moniker of trophy hunting. You guys are always after the biggest horns or the biggest antlers. Ok? Isn't that what you would want to hunt if you are interested in wildlife population sustainability and growth? The problem - or rather perception - that hunters have is that the only reason hunters chase older male animals is the big horns, big antlers, and big bodies. But what if we told you the famous ‘point’ scoring system was actually developed to test the maturation of an ecosystem that is reflected in the health and maturity of the animals. Here is our answer ...

The three young men behind Wild Origins, a new group out of India, join today’s podcast to discuss their efforts to tackle wildlife conservation in India. India is the global hotspot of human wildlife activity, with an incredible diversity of predators and prey. All three are for the idea of bringing hunting back to India which is likely one of the most controversial ideas around. As scientists, they want to showcase how hunting can be a tool and a management mechanism while improving people’s livelihoods with the meat and the animals and the value it brings to the table, specifically since India is one of the poorest countries on earth.

Josh Hartwick, CEO of Feathers and Sheds Unlimited, joins Robbie on this week’s show to be a part of the first of our ‘Connecting The Dots’ content series where we wanted to discuss where Nilgai fit into the landscape as an introduced species in Texas from his perspective as a wildlife manager on the ranch on which we produced our content. This podcast is part of a content piece that focuses on where the meat from Nilgai goes when it enters the proverbial food chain in South Texas. You will be greatly surprised at the people that it helps.

Trophy hunting. Is it only for ‘rich white dudes’? Proponents of sweeping bans on the sport will often say trophy hunting by rich and wealthy individuals that were colonialists, and has roots in oppression. Robbie breaks down why that line of thinking isn’t true, and provides proof in this less than 5 minute listen.

You might not even know the name ‘Glen Eberle’ or Eberlestock - the outdoor apparel brand he founded. But you can get to know him, who he is, why he chose to set up shop in the hunting space, and more about what he’s done, and all from this episode recored live from the porch of his little ranchette in the Frank Church Wilderness.

Owner-Operator of FTW SAAM, a West Texas long range shooting course, with courses ranging up to a mile that held a shooting school Robbie attended (and where Robbie nailed his first 1,000 yard target). The ethos of FTW Ranch is posted all around the property, and Robbie discusses that ethos with Tim in depth on today’s podcast.

In this extra short Roundup, Robbie and the Buffalo Nickel team recap a recent weekend trip to interview NASCAR legend Richard Childress, and a recap of the recent successful Blood Origins fundraiser.

The question? Are there only 40 ‘big Tusker’ elephants left in Africa. To answer, we need to define what a big tusker is - which is an Elephant typically defined as a 90 for 100 pound elephant for one tusk. The simple answer is, nobody has data for how many ‘Big Tuskers’ there are on the African continent today. Statistically speaking, though, there should be more than 40. Get the full download in less than 2 minutes in this extra short but sharp Short Truths!

Cliff Gray joins the podcast to discuss his interesting views on wildlife management formed during his decades spent afield as a hunter, outfitter and guide. Everything from opportunity, to access, to the amount of hunters in the field, western mule deer, elk, fishing in Puerto Rico and more is covered in this one, nothing is off limits!

Rhinos are one of the most endangered species on the planet that are still hunted in places. Oh man! How can you do that? How can you hunt an endangered species? Isn't that illegal? There are lots of questions that surround Rhinos - but one specifically that keeps coming up - are Rhino populations decreasing because of hunting? Rhino's are being absolutely decimated from poaching throughout Southern Africa. In South Africa and Namibia though there are bastions where Rhino's are flourishing and breeding and their population is increasing. These places tend to be tied with private hunting concessions. Why is this the case? The value that hunting, and in some places hunting Rhino's brings, allows these animals to be protected. Security around Rhinos is incredibly expensive endeavor that is a 365 day, 24 hr, 7 day a week job. Learn the truth here in under 4 minutes!

An athlete that has been around on the professional snowboarding circuit most of his adult life, Eric Jackson is also a newly minted hunter. He joins host Robbie in a short and sharp conversation on his conversion to the hunting lifestyle, how growing up in a hunting household affected his decision, and how his journey started in water fowling and culminated in an upcoming attempt at harvesting an elk with a bow.

While Cody is off chasing dreams as a fly fishing guide in Colorado, Robbie brings the heat solo once again. On the docket, our first fundraising dinner in Texas, and Robbie recounts the chaos of planning a large charitable event as a scientist-turned-event-organizer. Don’t forget to get involved in our first ever online auction. Bid high and bid often at: https://event.gives/bloodorigins/items

Hunting has to be driven by the best available information, and the best available science. Ensuring sustainable take with population estimates is a good way to ensure that hunting is not having a deterimental effect on the population, which, honestly, is the last thing that any hunter wants. The science becomes even more critical when it comes to charismatic megafauna like leopards. So we received the question about leopards in Nambia, specifically "What’s the latest population estimate of leopards in Namibia?" Starting with 14,154 and a 250 leopard per year trophy hunting quota per year. After a new survey was undertaken recently between 2017 and 2019, an expanded population range was observed, it was found that densities vary widely across Namibia. Learn why it matters here in under 4 minutes!

Lindsey Leitelt of ‘Naked and Afraid’ fame and comes to the podcast by way of friend of the show (and fellow ‘Naked and Afraid’ cast member) Kaila Cummings! Lindsey and Robbie discuss what it was like to join ‘Naked and Afraid’ WITHOUT a hunting background, and how her perspectives on hunting were changed even though she remains a nonhunter to this day.

Go ahead and google ‘Candy Ken’, a TikTok influencer originally of Austria. He joins the Blood Origins podcast to have a conversation about hunting, raw and unfiltered, while sitting in a studio in Los Angeles just before stepping into a studio to get on Candy Ken’s podcast!

Cody is back from fishing Colorado rivers and taking absolutely terrible photos of big brown trout and graces us with his presence on this week’s roundup. The boys touch base on troublesome deer in Catalina, mountain lion hunting in California and more. Listen until the end for Cody’s super secret fishing spot!

Can you explain how YOU define ‘ethical’? Ethics often comes up in conversations within the hunting community and with fingers pointed at the hunting community - and for the most part both parties say the same thing, "That [insert any hunting practice] is unethical". Ethics, being ethical, is something that is often debated online. Often that discussion boils down to peoples opinions and preferences and rarely does the conversation or discussion focus on ethics. The definition of ethics is your morals and principles around an activity like hunting, i.e., the ethics of the kill, ethical behavior, ethical conduct etc. In my opinion, the applied ethic overarching it all, is tied to the treatment of the animal during the activity. So ... here's my answer. Do you have a question you would like us to answer? Send us the question at info@bloodorigins.com or you can text us the question at 620-860-4804.

Travis Thompson, Executive Director of All Florida, returns to the Blood Origins podcast to discuss a difference of opinion with Robbie on a recent trip to Florida over the sustainable use of invasive species of pythons and iguana. Having amicable debates around topics that will promote hunting always leads to good ideas - thats exactly what you will find from today's episode.

Robbie is joined by Sean Kilkenny, the advocacy and deer management director for the Australian Deer Association to talk about the Australian National Feral Deer Management Plan. Sean goes into how deer are managed at the state, rather than federal, level and how that disjointed approach can affect deer management in the nation. 

Robbie is outright DITCHED by Cody this week so he can galavant around Colorado catching and taking absolutely terrible photos of brown trout. In his absence, Robbie tackles the important news affecting hunting around the world solo, with an update on the Victorian duck hunt, the proposed Colorado hunting ban, the Botswana elephant controversy, ungulate brain worms in moose, and more! Listen in and don’t forget to shoot Cody a message at 620-860-4804 and tell him to take photos in portrait mode!

Our new Short Truths Podcast content series is back and Robbie is answering one of the most common questions we field at Blood Origins. What do you think of so-called ‘canned hunting’.  The idea of canned hunting, high fence hunting, what is fair chase is a common set of questions that we get asked. What is the definition of canned hunting? When is high fence hunting ok? Would you ever high fence hunting? Canned hunting really comes down to the eye of the beholder or in this case the person undertaking the style of hunt, or more likely, the opinion of the person critiquing the individual undertaking the hunt. I wanted to try and address the topic in a very objective, take a couple of steps back from the topic manner. It is such an emotive topic that is very difficult to just think about it for a second. The social science aspect of this is very important. It’s what drives perceptions and drives values at the end of the day drives public opinion around hunting, and that is something to truly consider. We may not have the science to define a canned hunt and probably never will. I probably need to do 10 more of these kind of videos, looking at all sides of the argument, and looking at it through all the multiple lenses that needs to be looked through. So ... here's my first answer on this topic.

Lake Pickle, formerly of Primos and now of OnX, and a member of the ‘Blood Origins family’ from the very beginning, joins Robbie to talk about his recent South African hunting trip. The boys discuss the ethics and perceptions of high fences and whether or not, or how they apply to South Africa and dispel some rumors while they’re at it. 

Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society CEO Ben Jones joins Robbie and the boys get into a bit of a nerdy, science-based discussion on ruffed grouse, why they’re declining, what they need, where they habitate, and more!