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Illegally importing turtles and turtle eggs from China, including some potentially endangered species, for sale as pets has landed a Calgary man a $35,000 fine.
Justice Bruce Fraser on Friday accepted a joint submission from Crown prosecutor Omelia Tedesco-White and defence counsel Greg Dunn to hand Zhongmin Zheng the hefty fine under the Wild Animal and Planet Protection and Regulation of Interprovincial Trade Act.Tedesco-White told Fraser the legislation was passed after in 1975 Canada became the 10th country to ratify the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species .
Investigators then conducted a controlled delivery of three shipments to Zheng’s northwest Calgary home. A subsequent search of the residence on May 27, 2022, resulted in the seizure of 53 live turtles, two dead ones and 33 turtle eggs.“Officers noted a strong ammonia smell that permeated up to the main floor of the residence. The water in the terrariums was a yellow-brown colour and contained suspended solid waste. the water in some terrariums appeared gelatinous.
Some of the eggs and turtles were determined to be under the appendix-II category under CITES, which “includes species that are not currently threatened , but may become so if their trade is not monitored,” the Convention states.Dunn told Fraser that Zheng, a Canadian citizen who emigrated to Canada from mainland China in 2014, grew up with turtles as pets.
If Zheng, who was given three years to pay off his fine, doesn’t do so, he will face time behind bars.
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