Alberta resident sentenced to $35,000 fine and prohibition order for illegally importing and possessing protected turtles and turtle eggs

April 22, 2024 – Calgary, Alberta – Environment and Climate Change Canada

On April 19, 2024, Zhongmin Zheng was sentenced to pay a total of $35,000 after pleading guilty in the Alberta Court of Justice to two charges under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA). In addition to the fine, Zheng was issued a prohibition order which prohibits the possession of any live animal for a period of two years. This includes wild animals, livestock, and pets.

On May 24, 2022, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers, working with Canada Border Services Agency officers, intercepted and inspected a package that Zheng had imported from China. Although the package contents had been declared as “childrens building blocks”, it contained live turtles and turtle eggs.

On May 27, 2022, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers worked with Alberta Fish and Wildlife Officers and the Calgary Police Service to execute a search warrant that resulted in the seizure of 121 specimens, including 63 turtles and 58 turtle eggs. DNA analysis, conducted at an Environment and Climate Change Canada laboratory, determined that 76 of the turtles and turtle eggs were species listed under either Appendix II or III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

All live turtles were forfeited and have been moved to professional care facilities in Ontario and Alberta.

The fine will be directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund.

Quick facts

• Globally, there are over 350 species of turtles and tortoises, more than half of which are threatened. The trade of many of these species is regulated by CITES, an international agreement that Canada signed in 1975 to regulate, or in some cases prohibit, trade in specific species of wild animals and plants, as well as their respective parts and derivatives.
• CITES Appendix II lists species that are not currently threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. Appendix III is a list of species that needs the cooperation of other countries to prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation.
• WAPPRIITA is the Canadian federal law through which Canada meets its obligations to regulate trade in species listed under CITES.
• The specific charges under WAPPRIITA are one charge for importing an animal without a permit, contrary to subsection 6(2); and one charge for knowingly possessing an animal imported or transported in contravention of the Act, contrary to paragraph 8(a).
• Created in 1995, the Environmental Damages Fund is a Government of Canada program administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The Fund directs monies received from fines, penalties, court orders, and voluntary payments to projects that will repair environmental damage or benefit the environment. The Fund aims to invest in areas where the environmental damage occurred.  

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Contacts

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