Rob Wilson

CFSC instructor, Park Ranger and Avid Hunter 

"The first time I shot a deer, it was really interesting. I was elated and sad at the same time. It's not a pleasant thing to kill an animal. I enjoy being out of the wilderness, I enjoy being close to nature, and I enjoy bringing meat to my family, but that actual feeling of killing an animal is hard. It's a full gamut of emotions," he says. Nobody in Rob's immediate family hunted, so he was particularly proud to be able to provide wild game for their Acadian feasts, which traditionally always included a Hunter's Meat Pie. "It's got a biscuit crust with game meat inside and it's anything you could harvest as a hunter. So moose meat, rabbit, and whatever you could shoot basically, with a bunch of herbs and a thin gravy called "au jus" poured over it. It’s one way that I could provide for my family," says Rob.

Rob's ventures into the world of hunting started about nine years ago, when he first met the two German hunters who eventually took him under their wing. "I started following these two German hunters around and I followed them for an entire season before I even considered getting a hunting license," says Rob. "They brought their heritage to their hunt. They would do things a little differently. They even have a ceremony where they take the last meal that the animal was eating, and they dip a little bit of the branch in the blood; then put it in their hat and place another branch the mouth of the animal. A hunter coming back into camp with a branch in his hat indicates he has been successful." he says. "They treat the animal with a lot of respect. This includes taking really good care of the meat from the field to the plate. They butcher the meat themselves so every ounce is used and there’s no waste. It’s a neat way to take care of the animal."

Rob adopted his German hunter's ethical hunting philosophy, and he’s excited to have an opportunity to share it with a new generation of hunters as part of the EatWild team. "I think it's a really great opportunity to try to help new hunters to be more socially aware of the impacts of their practices. Everyone is going to have a different perception of what ethical hunting is, but for me, ethical hunting is to do things with as much respect for the animal as you can, from start to finish, and to treat the environment, and the people in the area, with as much reverence as you can as well." As a long time Park Ranger and 16 year Search and Rescue volunteer, Rob brings a diverse skill set to the EatWild team that he is eager to impart on others. Rob’s annual hunting adventures include solo backpack trips into remote Alpine terrain as well as numerous forays into the interior of BC with his German hunting partners.