Wild animal and plant trade and protection act 2017 annual report: chapter 5

5. International cooperation

5.1. CITES Conference of the Parties

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Conference of the Parties (CoP) meets once every three years. During the period between meetings of the CoP, the Animals Committee, the Plants Committee and the Standing Committee implement the directives received from the preceding CoP and prepare results for the next CoP.

The 18th meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP18) will be held in 2019 in Sri Lanka. Additional information on the Conference of the Parties is available on-line.

5.2. CITES committees and working groups

Canada participates in a number of committees and working groups to foster ongoing cooperation with international partners under the Convention. In particular, the meetings of the CITES Standing Committee, the Plants Committee and the Animals Committee are instrumental in developing international policy for implementation of the Convention. Decisions made by these bodies may affect Canada’s obligations under CITES and greatly influence the decisions ultimately adopted by the CoP. It is therefore important that Canadian concerns be heard in these forums.

Members of these committees are elected for each CITES region after every CoP. Carolina Caceres of ECCC was elected Chair of the Standing Committee for the next intersessional period. Dr. Adrianne Sinclair of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) was elected Chair of the Plants Committee.

5.3. INTERPOL Wildlife Crime Working Group

INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 190 member countries. The INTERPOL Wildlife Crime Working Group, a subgroup of the Environmental Security Sub-Directorate, works and advises on issues related to law enforcement, strategies and ways in which INTERPOL can help to maintain and support an international network of law enforcement experts specializing in wildlife and forestry crimes. The Director General of the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate at ECCC, Sheldon Jordan, is currently chair of the Wildlife Crime Working Group.

ECCC’s involvement with the Wildlife Crime Working Group (WCWG) includes building capacity and facilitating the exchange of information in support of coordinated and enhanced enforcement efforts around the world.

In 2017, under the auspices of INTERPOL, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the United Kingdom (UK) Border Force, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) co-led a global operation named Thunderbird 7. The goal of the operation was to tackle illegal trade in wildlife and timber and to contribute to enhancing the capacity of enforcement officers across the world to respond to and combat wildlife crime. It took place from 30 January to 19 February 2017 and involved police, customs, border agencies, environment, wildlife and forestry officials from 45 countries and territories.

Information and intelligence was shared ahead of the operation to assist in identifying specific targets and areas for action. These included wildlife and forest crime hotspots and bottlenecks where checkpoints could be established, in addition to operations at airports and national borders. Operation Thunderbird 7 resulted in 390 investigations, of which there have been 88 completed prosecutions thus far. Countries identified the involvement of at least 898 suspects and reported 1,400 seizures of illegal products worth an estimated USD $5.1 million. The analysis of the results from the operation will inform future national, regional and international enforcement efforts.

Examples of international cooperation

International cooperation in two investigations leads to 62 months in prison in the USA and USD $120,000 fine.

1 - “Former Canadian Mountie Sentenced to Money Laundering Charges Stemming From a Conspiracy to Smuggle Ivory Tusks”

On September 20, 2017 a retired RCMP officer was convicted by U.S. District Court for smuggling more than 250 narwhal tusks into the US between 2000 and 2010. The offender was sentenced to 62 months in prison in the US after pleading guilty to 10 charges of money laundering relating to the smuggling. The same individual had been previously convicted in Canada on illegal export charges.

This case is a great example of international cooperation in the fight against wildlife crime.

2 - Sale of fake rhino horns results in felony wire fraud conviction in USA
Real Black Rhino Horns Offered For Sale / Fake Rhino Horn Shipped To New York City Photo: Todd Kish © Environment and Climate Change Canada

Real Black Rhino horns offered for sale / Fake Rhino horn shipped to New York City
Photo: Todd Kish © Environment and Climate Change Canada

The increasing value of wildlife commodities has also resulted in a rise in other crime such as counterfeiting.

In June 2013, ECCC Enforcement Officers entered into an operation with the USFWS focusing on the illegal sale, import and export of Elephant tusks and Rhinoceros horns. The subject of the operation was a Canadian citizen who owned several companies specializing in completing taxidermy work for hunted trophy animals, from both Africa and Canada. He has been previously investigated and convicted by ECCC for violations relating to the import and export of endangered species.

During the operation the subject offered for sale numerous Rhinoceros horns to an undercover USFWS Special Agent located in the United States. A deal was struck and money in the amount of $90,000 USD was paid for two horns. The Rhino horns were subsequently shipped to New York City from Canada. Upon unpacking the horns, the covert operator discovered that the horns were not real Rhino horn, but were fakes made from fiberglass.

The sale of a fake Rhino horn constituted the offence of felony wire fraud under the USA law. Although the subject was believed to be in Canada at that time, an arrest warrant was issued in the US to be executed in the event that he ventured back into the US. Two and a half years later, the person was arrested under the above warrant on January 31, 2017, by USFWS special agents.

On July 27, 2017, the individual was sentenced, in the US, to time served in incarceration (1 month) and was ordered to repay $90,000 USD to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for fraud related to fake Rhino horns, as well as an additional fine of $30,000 USD.

Although no charges were laid against the subject in Canada for the above offence, ECCC Wildlife Enforcement Officers contributed significantly to his successful prosecution and conviction in the US.

5.4. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

ECCC is collaborating with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to exchange experiences and best practices in the prevention and combatting of wildlife and forest crime among countries in the Americas; to get a better understanding of the relation between wildlife and forest crime and organized crime in the Americas; and to identify potential joint strategies and activities for cooperation.

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