Banned tiger parts cost Richmond company $45,000 fine


GERRY BELLETT, VANCOUVER SUN, FEBRUARY 18, 2009

 
AA Richmond company that produces herbal medicines has been fined $45,000 after pleading guilty in Richmond Provincial Court of possessing banned tiger parts.

Wing Quon Enterprises Ltd. was also ordered to forfeit medicines and products seized by Environment Canada investigators following a lengthy probe into the company’s activities.

Ground tiger bone was used as an ingredient in some of the medicines.

According to Environment Canada wildlife enforcement division official Marko Goluza, the company was producing medicines and products made from some of the “rarest plant and animal species on the planet” including tiger, costus root, agarwood, bear, pangolin, musk dear and rhinoceros.

“All of these are protected species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,” said Goluza.

Goluza said the investigation began when officials became aware that products advertising they contained these banned substances were being sold.

He said $40,000 of the fine will be directed to TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade-monitoring program of the World Wildlife Fund, which is dedicated to preventing the trade in rare plants and animal parts.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Carole's note:  Tiger breeders, dealers and abusers in the US and Canada keep telling us that they are not involved in the black market trade in tiger parts.  So where are these tiger parts coming from?  Does anyone really believe that all or even most of these tigers are passing through customs from India, China and Russia into North America rather than being bred right here and exploited right here?

For the cats,

Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue
an Educational Sanctuary home
to more than 100 big cats
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813.493.4564 fax 885.4457

http://www.BigCatRescue.org
SaveTheBigCats@gmail.com

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