Guilty pleas entered for wildlife violations

Shirley Spence of Port aux Choix has been fined $1,000 and prohibited from holding a big game licence for five years after pleading guilty to trafficking in big game. Ms. Spence also entered a guilty plea on behalf of Sea Echo Motel, which she owns and operates, for trafficking in big game. Sea Echo Motel was fined $2,000 and prohibited from possessing any wild game service licence for a five-year period. The sentences were handed down recently in Corner Brook provincial court. The charges arose from a major undercover operation in 2000 conducted by conservation officers with the Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods.

Several other individuals from Port aux Choix were convicted as a result of the investigation which involved the assistance of undercover operators from Ontario.

Media contact:
       Sonia B. Glover, Communications Director, (709) 729-6183.
       Jim Maloney, Regional Compliance Manager, (709) 637-2918.

2002 04 24                         10:35 a.m.