SURREY, British Columbia, February 7, 2007 -- A Vancouver resident has been convicted of hunting migratory birds out of season. The conviction follows charges laid under the Migratory Birds Regulations, made pursuant to the Migratory Birds Convention Act (1994) after an investigation by Wildlife Officers of Environment Canada's Wildlife Enforcement Division in Vancouver, B.C.

On December 18, 2006, Taras Tereshchak entered a guilty plea in Surrey Provincial Court. The conviction results from an incident which occurred on November 6, 2005, in Delta, British Columbia where wildlife officers found Mr. Tereshchak had hunted a juvenile Trumpeter swan, a species of migratory bird for which there is no open season. Trumpeter swans were once hunted and harassed to the point where, in 1933, there were only 77 Trumpeter Swans breeding in Canada and 50 breeding in the United States. Today, there are close to 20,000 wild Trumpeter Swans, and the species is no longer considered in danger of extinction.

A Provincial Court judge ordered Mr. Tereshchak to pay an $800 fine and ordered forfeiture of the shotgun used in the commission of the offence. Mr. Tereshchak has also received an automatic one-year prohibition on hunting migratory game birds.

The Migratory Birds Convention Act (1994) is an Act that implements the Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds in Canada and the United States. Environment Canada investigates offences with the objective of ensuring that companies, governments, and the general public comply with legislation and regulations that protect migratory birds. Wildlife Officers support the conservation and protection of Canada's natural capital through the enforcement of the Migratory Birds Convention Act (1994), Canada Wildlife Act, Species at Risk Act, and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act.
Patrick Porter
Lisa Vitols