US poacher fined for violations of Canadian laws while hunting waterfowl

EDMONTON, Alta. -- October 19, 2011 -- Jeffrey Foiles, of Pleasant Hill, Illinois, was fined a total of $14,500 today in Edmonton Provincial Court on five counts of violations against Canadian law protecting migratory birds, and one count under the Criminal Code of Canada. Foiles had pleaded guilty on September 14, 2011, to committing the violations between 2004 and 2007 while hunting waterfowl and filming a series of commercial hunting videos in Canada.

Foiles, through his companies; Straight Meat, and Foiles Migrators, produces and sells many waterfowl hunting products, including duck and goose calls, blinds, clothing and waterfowl hunting videos. One video, "Fallen Skies 5", is a hunting video that includes a large portion of the footage shot in Alberta in 2007. 

Under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, the specific counts and fines include:

• taking over the daily bag limit of geese ($4000);
• taking over the daily bag limit of ducks, ($4000);
• hunting from a moving boat or boat under power ($3000);
• failing to immediately make every reasonable effort to retrieve a migratory game bird ($1000); and
• failing, after retrieving a migratory game bird, to immediately kill the bird ($1000).

Foiles was also fined $1500 for causing unnecessary pain and suffering to a bird contrary to the Criminal Code.

Environment Canada’s enforcement officers worked with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to investigate this file. The two agencies gathered evidence through an extensive investigation that led to charges in both Canada and the United States.  

Foiles was also sentenced on September 21, 2011, on charges in the United States.

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