CORNWALL, Ont. – November
12, 2013 – Dennis Day of Cobden, Ontario,
was sentenced on November 5 in the Ontario
Court of Justice after pleading guilty on
July 23, 2013 to two counts of violating
federal laws regulating the import of reptiles.
Mr. Day was sentenced to a 90 day jail term
to be served on weekends, and ordered to
pay $50,000 to the Environmental Damages
Fund. The court also imposed a three year
probation in which Mr. Day is prohibited
from possessing any listed species of wildlife
except in accordance with the provisions
of the Wild Animal and Plant Protection
and Regulation of International and interprovincial
Trade Act (WAPPRIITA) and the regulations
there under.
On August 4, 2010, a
joint operation by Environment Canada, the
Canada Border Services Agency, the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police, the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service, and the United
States Customs and Border Protection found
Mr. Day to be in possession of three containers
of reptiles that were smuggled into Canada
near Cornwall, Ontario by a vessel originating
from the United States. Inspection of the
containers revealed a number of reptiles
that are prohibited in Canada for health
and safety reasons and others that are illegal
to import into Canada without a permit.
Officers seized 205
animals including 20 Chinese striped turtles
or goldenthreads, 20 African side neck turtles,
20 South American red-footed tortoises,
1 Herman's tortoise, 1 Serrated hinge back
tortoise, 8 African spurred tortoises, 25
Timor monitors, 20 Green iguanas, 51 Jackson's
chameleons and 39 Helmeted chameleons. The
estimated retail value of these animals
is approximately $50,000.
Mr. Day was convicted
under WAPPRIITA for importing animals without
a permit and making false or misleading
statements to an officer.
Mr. Day was also charged
by the Canada Border Services Agency and
convicted on March 14, 2013, of smuggling,
keeping, acquiring, and disposing of goods
illegally imported under the Customs Act.
Mr. Day received an additional 90 day jail
sentence to be served on weekends, and the
reptiles were ordered to be forfeited to
the Crown.
As a result of the evidence
obtained during the Day investigation, another
accused, Mr. Mark Ostroff, was convicted
in the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall,
Ontario on December 14, 2012, after pleading
guilty to one count of unlawfully importing
animals in violation of the WAPPRIITA. Mr.
Ostroff was fined $40,000 and sentenced
to three years probation.
Of the 10 species seized,
nine are listed as controlled species under
the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES).CITES is an international agreement
to regulate or in some cases to prohibit
trade in specific species of wild animals
and plants, as well as their respective
parts and derivatives. Environment Canada
is the lead agency responsible for CITES
implementation in Canada. WAPPRIITA is the
legislation used to implement CITES in Canada.
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