Jasper National Park (Alberta)
by Brad Romaniuk and Jim Mamalis
An RCMP member noticed a pick-up truck parked off-road adjacent to the highway, within the Park. The member was suspicious, and while calling for back-up the truck left the field and re-entered the highway, at which point it was stopped. After a brief period of questioning, the nervous driver of the truck admitted he had shot an elk in the Park. At this point, the case was handed over to Park Wardens. Officers found a dead bull elk lying at the back of a meadow, with at least two gunshot wounds in it.
The suspect admitted knowing he was inside a National Park, and knew it was illegal to shoot an elk here. He had planned on affixing his provincial elk tag to the animal, and then transporting it to B.C., where he planned to have it butchered. Upon seeing RCMP in the area, he was preparing to abandon the animal and leave the scene. He admitted to possessing resident hunting licences in both Alberta and B.C., although his official province of residence is B.C.

After a series of negotiations between Crown and his defence counsel, a joint submission was agreed upon. Final sentence included a $15,000 penalty (split between a $10,000 donation order payable to Friends of Jasper and $5000 fine), forfeiture of his 7mm magnum rifle, three years probation, three year firearm possession ban, and a three year hunting ban in Canada.

Pennsylvania
News Release, United States Attorney's office
A resident of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to12 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on his conviction of trafficking in illegally transported wildlife.
According to information presented to the court at different times in 2002, 2003 and 2004, the accused engaged in the sale and purchase of wildlife that had been imported or smuggled into the United States. The wildlife included Indian Star and Burmese Star Tortoises, which have a retail value of as much as $1,500 each. The man also collected hundreds of Pennsylvania Wood Turtles from the wild and sold them illegally for profit.

Ontario
MNR News Release
Three Lake Huron commercial fishermen and their company have been ordered to pay $485,000 in fines and restitution for deliberately and systematically falsifying fishing reports and for taking an over quota of whitefish from Lake Huron.

They fished Lake Huron through licences issued annually by the Ministry of Natural Resources. All commercial fishing licences have allocated quotas set for different species and for different areas of the lake. Commercial fishermen must submit accurate daily catch reports. This information is used to determine total catches in comparison to allocated quotas, and to calculate royalties due to the Crown. Fisheries management decisions are also based on the information submitted by the licensed commercial fishermen.

The investigation began in the late spring and early summer of 2004 when discrepancies were noted between the fishing locations reported and through observations by a conservation officer with the Upper Great Lakes Management Unit. Acting under the authority of a warrant, the officers had a tracking device placed on one of the tugs. It confirmed that whitefish were being caught in one zone and then reported as being from another.

Search warrants were executed on one of the boats and at the business offices where business documents were seized. This evidence revealed that more than 15,454 kg (34,000 lb.) of whitefish had been taken over the quota in 2003 and more than 88,181 kg (194,000 lb.) in 2004.

In addition to these fines, one of the fishermen is prohibited from having any involvement in the commercial fishing operations for a period of two years. The company must also install and maintain GPS tracking devices on all of its fishing vessels and fish-use hundred-pound tubs to land fish to ensure compliance.

Australia
A man in Sydney pled guilty to attempting to smuggle cockatoo and galah eggs out of Australia - and, when caught, he hindered a Customs officer by smashing the eggs hidden under his clothing. The 60 year old man was sentenced to a minimum of 18 months in prison.

The court heard that the man tried to leave Sydney International Airport for South Africa. After arousing the suspicion of Customs officers, he slapped his body when detained by Customs, smashing all but two of the 24 bird eggs under his clothing. DNA tests on the birds' eggs revealed that eight were sulphur-crested cockatoos, nine were pink Major Mitchell cockatoos and seven were galahs.

Florida
From Environment News Service
A Pennsylvania man who sold more than $200,000 worth of endangered species' parts, hides and mounts through his website and retail shop in Port St. Lucie, Florida, was sentenced to 25 months in prison by a federal court in Miami.

The accused operated a website and a retail store. He admitted to selling federally protected wildlife parts, including tiger, snow leopard and jaguar skins as well as a gorilla skull and baby tiger mounts. Special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began investigating the illegal wildlife trade after an agent in Illinois received an unsolicited email message offering "cat skins" for sale. The agent eventually purchased two Bengal tiger skins for $15,300, a snow leopard skin for $7,000 and a clouded leopard skin for $4,500.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Law Enforcement Office said the Internet provides users with a false sense of anonymity and security that encourages some people to engage in illegal activities. This arrest demonstrates that the Internet is not a safe haven for anyone engaged in the illegal buying or selling of protected wildlife.

New York
-by Marion Hoffman
A case of simple trespass soon escalated into the illegal taking of a doe and small buck. The unethical hunter not only lied to the landowner when confronted about the trespass but also was able to make off with the doe before the landowner knew what was happening. By the time the landowner called the officer, it was already getting dark, but the officer was able to locate the buck that had been left behind. The only problem was the landowner didn't get a plate number of the truck.

The only information the officer had was a description of the truck, but she contacted the local gun club whose property the hunter was "supposed to be hunting on". One of the trustees called back in less than 10 minutes with a name and address of a member who owned a truck similar to what the perpetrator was supposed to have been driving. A check of license information in the state date base indicated that the hunter did not possess any tags for the area in question.

The officer attended the suspect's residence. The truck described by the landowner, was parked in the hunter's driveway and there was blood in the back of it. The alleged violator took one look at the officer and said, "I knew you would be coming. I couldn't sleep all night". He then proceeded to lead the officer into his garage where he gave up the doe deer that he had taken illegally. He had placed his father-in-law's anterless deer tag upon the doe.

In a subsequent conversation he said that he intended to go back for the buck, but got scared off after his encounter with the landowner and admitted that he shot both deer on posted private property. Because he was a first time offender the court assessed a lower penalty than usual: the hunter was fined only $650, but also lost his hunting privileges.

British Columbia
from CanWest News
Eleven men have been charged in a high-profile eagle-parts trafficking case triggered more than a year ago when 48 mutilated eagle carcasses were discovered in North Vancouver and Squamish. The men have been charged with unlawful possession of dead wildlife, trafficking dead wildlife, hunting wildlife during the closed season and unlawful export of wildlife.

Thousands of dollars worth of eagle parts used for native ceremonial or artistic purposes were recovered. The items included numerous eagle parts which are sold on the black market for anywhere from $100 to $1,500 per part. A dancing stick with an eagle head, used in powwows, can sell for more than $1,000; golden eagle wings can sell for up to $500. A trumpeter swan was also recovered, valued at upwards of $1,000.

For the past several years, an estimated 1,000 bald eagles have been killed annually for the illegal market. While illegal poaching of bald eagles has been going on in B.C. for years, charges are often difficult due to the secrecy surrounding trafficking rings. According to B.C.'s Wildlife Act, no one can possess a dead eagle or eagle parts unless authorized by officials. The penalty for poaching is a fine up to $50,000 or six months in jail; the penalty for trafficking is a fine of up to $100,000 and/or jail for a year. Those who want eagle parts legally must find them discarded naturally or can apply to wildlife officials, who distribute birds that have died from natural causes.

Thailand
from TNA
Two Thais have been arrested for smuggling of almost 100 pangolins destined for gourmet meals and traditional medications in China.
Pangolins are Asian and African animals whose bodies are covered with large horny scales, are quite unusual in appearance, looking like a combination of long-snouted anteaters covered in scales like armadillos, and cannot easily be mistaken for something else.
It is forbidden to trade them, as they are an endangered species.

Provincial customs and Immigration officials seized a shipment of 80 live pangolins and the remains of dead animals weighing 9 kilograms together with a firearm and ammunition found with them. The suspects admitted all the animals were en-route to China where pangolin meat is used as ingredients in Chinese food and medicine.

Canadian Wildlife Service
Environment Canada News Release
A Toronto man was arrested in New York City for allegedly selling endangered species products containing elephant ivory and parrot feather ornaments to U.S. wildlife officers in New York. The 36-year-old man, was arrested by United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) special agents at LaGuardia International Airport while attempting to board a return flight to Canada.

Following arraignment on numerous felony charges including smuggling endangered animal products into the United States in person and via mail and courier, the man was released on a US$500,000 bond and a probation order which restricts his travel to the Greater Toronto Area and federal court in Buffalo, New York.

The arrest concluded a 17-month investigation jointly undertaken by the USFWS and officers of the Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) stationed in Burlington, Ontario. Officials of both countries are concerned about the increased use of the Internet to support illegal trade in wildlife specimens and products.
CWS officers, with the assistance of the Canada Border Services Agency, executed a search warrant at the man's residence, timed to coincide with his arrest. Numerous artifacts made from endangered species parts and documents containing evidence of the alleged offences were seized at that time.

The suspect faces numerous charges in Canada under the Wild Animal Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act and the Migratory Birds Convention Act in addition to the charges in the United States. Persons convicted of offences under these statutes face maximum fines of $150,000 and $100,000 respectfully, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both.