US authorities have made a one-of-a-kind seizure by entrapping an exotic animal bone trafficker from Joliette who was recently fined $40,000 for selling polar bear skulls to an undercover agent.
“I have never shipped anything to the United States with bad intention, I support animal protection 100% and I have never hunted myself”, apologizes Vanessa Rondeau in a letter to the American judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
The 27-year-old woman was however the target of a major sting operation in the United States, in order to catch her in the act of illegal export.
Photo taken from court documents from the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
One of the famous polar bear skulls sold to an undercover agent via his business’ Facebook page.
A man bought polar bear skulls from her twice, in 2020 and 2021, by contacting her on Facebook. The client was actually an undercover agent for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
“This case was unique because it involved polar bear skulls, which you don’t often see entering the United States,” said US prosecutor Aaron J. Mango in a telephone interview with The newspaper.
Rondeau, owner of the antique and taxidermy shop The Old Cavern in Montreal, pleaded guilty last January to trafficking in protected wildlife species in the United States.
She was later sentenced in June to one year of probation and fined US$40,000, in addition to US$1,364 in restitution.
She had also spent two days behind bars in a Vermont prison when she was arrested in May 2021.
Multiple Charges
Rondeau was then charged in May 2021 with trafficking protected wildlife, mislabeling wildlife and smuggling goods into the United States.
“We are not educated enough in Canada about the laws related to the protection of wildlife and import-export”, defends the artist in an interview with The newspaper.
However, according to the US prosecutor, Rondeau admitted to the undercover agent that she knew “that the import/transportation of the polar bear skulls would be in violation of US law”, can we read in the court documents.
The polar bear is indeed on the American list of endangered species.
Send a message
Several other endangered species, including tigers, hippos, grizzly bears and alligators, had also been sold in the United States by the trafficker, despite the restrictions.
“With a few days in jail and a substantial fine, it sends the message [aux Canadiens] that you can’t engage in that type of conduct,” U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango said.
Import
When Vanessa Rondeau was arrested trying to drive home, her car contained a number of prohibited items, including crocodile feet, a stuffed sloth and shark jaws, with a total value of $37,204 US.
Rondeau is said to have smuggled pieces of taxidermy into Canada in the past, with officers filming her recovering packages suspected of containing wild animals.
She then removed the items from their original cardboard box to bury them in shopping bags, before returning home.
Photo taken from court documents from the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
Many skulls had been intercepted, including those of walruses, tigers and polar bears.
In interview with The newspaperInstead, the mother-of-two says she gets her pieces through estate sales, Canadian zoos, Inuit communities and imports from South Africa.
“Poachers, wildlife smugglers and wildlife dealers such as the defendant operate around the world. Their criminal acts harm communities, degrade our legitimate institutions and destabilize our environment,” argues Me Mango in his pre-sentence brief.
Furthermore, the global illegal wildlife trade was estimated to be between US$7 billion and US$23 billion in 2020, amounts comparable to the international trade in narcotics and arms.
-With the collaboration of Nicolas Brasseur, Bureau of Investigation
SEIZED BY THE AUTHORITIES
Photo taken from court documents from the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
A photo of some of the loot seized by US law enforcement.
- 19 crocodile skulls
- 7 crocodile feet
- 8 alligator teeth
- 30 shark jaws
- 23 raccoon feet
- 8 african antelope horns
- 4 African antelope skull caps
- 2 preserved sharks in jars
- 30 starfish
- 12 seahorses
- 4 puffer fish
- 1 human skull overhung with butterflies
- 1 stuffed two-toed sloth
Two operating modes
By car
In January 2020, Vanessa Rondeau drove through customs in Champlain, New York, with a polar bear skull destined for the US undercover agent.
She then went to a shipping warehouse near the border offering logistics services to her customers, including post office boxes and warehousing. She then posted the package there via UPS.
Sale price: US$780
By mail
In February 2021, Vanessa Rondeau sold a second skull to the undercover agent. She sent it directly by Canada Post to the United States, indicating that the package contained “1 frame” and that it was a gift. The amount declared was US$100.
“Smugglers believe that law enforcement examines commercial packages more than packages sent for personal reasons,” said agent Ryan Bessey, who participated in the operation, in his complaint.
According to US customs data, Rondeau sent 30 packages via Canada Post to the United States between November 27, 2018 and September 16, 2019.
She then declared that there was inside, rather than a wild animal, a frame, a large toy, a statue or a carpet, for example.
Sale price: US$584.11