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Five people entered guilty pleas in Alberta Provincial Court in Wainwright, to breaking provincial and federal wildlife regulations. On February 2, 2006, the Court fined the five people a total of $26,750, and barred each individual from hunting in Alberta for five years.
The five Quebec residents pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of wildlife, wasting the edible meat of a big game animal, transporting illegally-taken game across provincial boundaries and obtaining hunting licences when ineligible. They are Rémi Poulin, 47 years old, of St-Joseph-de-Beauce, Mario Pépin, 46 years old, Véronique Lévesque, 27 years old, and Yvon Poulin, 38 years old, all of St-Benjamin, and Bernard Métivier, 42 years old, of St-Nicolas. The offences involved white-tailed deer and mule deer. In most instances, only the antlers had been taken, not the carcasses of the deer.
These convictions were the result of an investigation by the Fish and Wildlife Division of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, with assistance from the Wildlife Enforcement Division of Environment Canada, Quebec Region. Saskatchewan wildlife officers also participated in the investigation.
The hunting offences first came to light in November 2003, when wildlife officers in Saskatchewan intercepted Quebec residents poaching deer in that province and learned they were also operating in Alberta.
After receiving this information, wildlife officers in Alberta began an investigation and determined that an organized network of poachers from Quebec was operating in Alberta. Officers used a variety of methods to gather evidence, including forensic analysis by the Edmonton Police Service of photographs the poachers had in their possession, and DNA analysis of wildlife parts. It became evident that deer parts the poachers were found with in Saskatchewan had actually been obtained at various locations in Alberta. Environment Canada officers in Quebec assisted with taking statements and gathering intelligence, helping bring this case to a successful conclusion.
Environment Canada invites the public to report poaching and interprovincial or international smuggling of wildlife by calling 1-800-463-4311.
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