Brandon Exotic Wildlife Importer Fined for Illegal Trade in Live Corals

WINNIPEG, March 1, 2006 - A Manitoba man was ordered to pay fines totaling just over $1,300 in Manitoba Provincial Court, after pleading guilty to charges of illegally importing and possession of live corals and clams, in violation of the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA).

On October 13^th, 2005, inspectors from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) located live corals and clams in a shipment of tropical fish and invertebrates destined for Assiniboine Aquatics of Brandon. A subsequent investigation by Environment Canada discovered six more illegally imported live corals at a Brandon pet store. Evidence from the initial airport inspection, the pet store investigation, and CBSA import documents all indicated that James Douglas Hercun illegally imported the threatened and vulnerable live corals and clams into Canada.

Live corals (stony corals) and certain types of clams are protected under an international treaty known as the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Since 1973, 169 countries have signed the CITES agreement. CITES sets controls on the international trade and movement of animal and plant species that have been, or may be, threatened due to excessive commercial exploitation. Trade and movement of these species are strictly controlled via an export and import permit system. In this case, the live corals and clams did not have the mandatory export permits, nor the necessary United States Fish and Wildlife Declarations to verify that they were legally traded under CITES.

WAPPRIITA, brought into force by the Government of Canada in 1996, provides federal wildlife officers with an enforcement tool to pursue corporations or individuals who illegally import endangered animals and plants into Canada. Maximum penalties under WAPPRIITA for summary convictions are a fine of up to $25,000 and/or up to six months in jail for individuals and up to a $50,000 fine for corporations. For indictable convictions, maximum penalties are a fine of up to $150,000 and/or up to five years in jail for individuals, and a fine of up to $300,000 for corporations.

Environment Canada, the lead agency for implementing CITES, works very closely with the CBSA whose responsibility is the frontline inspection of all goods entering Canada. Working together, along with our domestic and international partners, we serve to protect endangered animals and plants from around the world.

For further information, please contact :

Richard Labossiere
Wildlife Investigator
Environment Canada
Ph: (204) 983-5262
Cell: (204) 791-0278

Loretta Nyhus
Prairie Region Communications
Canada Border Services Agency
Ph: (204) 984-0261
Cell :(204) 770-7494