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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1490198
the organization grow sustainably. "A lot of hunters care about the environment and habitats," Ly explains. "We donate a lot of our money towards caring for the animals and the rules are very strict in B.C.—if you shoot an animal, you have to eat it." Ly is actually vegetar- ian for most of the year (with a diet of mostly eggs and tofu), except when she eats the meat she kills. Growing up, the Vancou- verite often visited her family's farm in Vietnam, where she regularly saw people butcher pigs, geese and chickens. So when she began hunting and want- ed to butcher an animal herself, she did what any of us would do: she looked it up on YouTube. "If I didn't have my time out in the woods, I don't think I'd be that good of a businessper- son," she maintains. "Being able to sit still in minus 12 degrees in snow waiting for an animal has made me a better commu- nicator, a better listener, and it's given me more compassion for people." It's also given her a new perspective on consuming sustainably, Ly adds. But it's not always as glorious as it sounds. "I think 90 percent of the time it's going for a hike with your rifle," says Ly. To put things into per- spective, she has only shot three animals in six years. One of those was a Cana- dian moose—her biggest kill yet. That hunt was during mating season, so the animals were, shall we say, a bit distracted. To attract one, Ly mimicked the mating call of a female moose: "Believe it or not, the moose are horny, and they run out, and that's your opportunity to shoot," she says. Her favourite trip was a solo hunt for a mountain goat in 2019, when the conservationist found herself separated from her own herd in Smithers. Shooting female goats, while legal, is discour- aged, which means Ly (still a rookie at this point) spent three long nights be- ing circled by grizzlies and wolves, waiting for a goat to lift its leg. "Finally, it took a piss and I made the shot right away," she recalls of the al- most 300-pound male she had to carry back home. At the moment, she's got her eyes on deer, which are a quick and difficult animal to hunt. In fact, she just returned from a five- day trip to Clinton, where she was tracking deer knee-deep in snow. When asked what she came back with, she starts to laugh: "Just a good spirit. That's the reality of hunting." £ A F T E R HO U R S SHOVE IT The Push International Performing Arts Festival returns to Vancouver from January 19 to February 5. As always, the festival hosts a wide array of events at locations across town, from concerts and dance parties to plays and multimedia exhibits. Highlights this year include Ivo Dimchev's Selfie Concert, in which the Bulgarian artist skips over the boundary between artist and audience, and Are We Not Drawn Onward to New Era, a palindromic take on the climate crisis from Belgian-based theatre performance group Ontroerend Goed. pushfestival.ca for more information. FREEZE FEST If there was an award for most aptly named music festival in the province, one would have to consider Prince George's Coldsnap—taking place January 27 to February 4—for the honour. The event has been a staple in the area since 2007 and this year's edition features acts like Vancouver indie rock foursome Hyaenas—who have shared the stage with indie darlings The Pack AD and Fake Shark—and Indigenous husband-and-wife duo Burnstick, who were recently nominated for a Juno. Somehow, you might not think about the cold so much. coldsnapfestival.com for more information. £ PUSH: EMILIA MILEWSKA; COLDSNAP: DAVE LEMAN 56 BCBUSINESS.CA JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 Need a new recipe? Subscribe to the Newsletter at westernliving.ca