Two New Brunswick hunters fined a total of $6,000 for offences under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994

January 2, 2024 - Bathurst, New Brunswick – Environment and Climate Change Canada

On December 21, 2023, in the New Brunswick Provincial Court in Bathurst, Romuald Vienneau and Rejean Roussel were each fined $3,000 after earlier pleading guilty to one charge each for offences under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994. Both individuals were charged for exceeding the daily bag limit of migratory game birds, which contravenes the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022. The total fine will be directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund. In addition to the fine, Romuald Vienneau and Rejean Roussel are prohibited from holding a migratory game bird hunting permit, and from hunting migratory birds for a period of one year.

The charges resulted from an incident on October 12, 2022, when Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers were patrolling the Acadian Peninsula region of New Brunswick. During their patrols, officers observed two individuals hunting sea ducks, by boat, off the coast of Le Goulet. Once the hunters reached shore, they were intercepted by officers and found to be in possession of a total of 24 scoter ducks and one eider duck, in contravention of the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022. The daily bag limit for that area is four scoters per person, and there was no open season in that area for eiders at the time.

Quick facts

• Under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, and its associated Regulations, Environment and Climate Change Canada is responsible for protecting migratory birds, their nests and populations, and for regulating potentially harmful human activities that may affect them.
• Hunters are encouraged to consult The Migratory Birds Hunting Regulations Summaries, which are one-page summaries of the annual hunting regulations for each province and territory, including season dates and bag limits.
• Created in 1995, the Environmental Damages Fund is a Government of Canada program administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The Fund helps ensure that court-awarded penalties are used to repair environmental damage or benefit the environment. The Fund receives and redirects the money from court penalties and settlements, and aims to invest in areas where the environmental damage occurred.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has created a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current with what the Government of Canada is doing to protect our natural environment.

To anonymously report wildlife crime, members of the public can call Crime Stoppers at 1‑800‑222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-711-1800 if you are in Quebec. Callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000 from Crime Stoppers.

Contacts

Media Relations
Environment and Climate Change Canada
819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free)
media@ec.gc.ca