A man from the east coast province of New Brunswick has been handed a record fine of $385,000 related to smuggling 250 Narwhal tusks out of Canada.
Gregory Logan was convicted of seven counts for offences under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act.
In addition to the fine, he was given an eight month conditional sentence to be served in the community, including four months of house arrest.
The convictions are the result of a two-and-a-half year investigation begun in 2009 by Environment Canada after it received word from an agency in the US about the illegal purchase of tusks that originated in Canada.
A spokesperson for Environment Canada said the smuggling of tusks from Canada to buyers in the US, went on for seven years.
It was also noted that this fine is the largest ever handed down under the Protection Act.
Only Inuit are allowed to harvest narwhal in Canada as a source of food and income.
Jennifer Kennedy, spokesperson for federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, said in a media release, “The harvest and transport of tusks is regulated to ensure that legal trade continues to remain viable and sustainable”.
Narwhals are medium sized whales with a single long tusk that spirals up from 1.5 to 3 metres in length. Their range is almost exclusively in the Arctic
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.