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Old March 19th, 2010, 07:09 AM
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Melinda Melinda is offline
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justice for turtles!!

last spring I notified the ministry and the spca (as many others did I'm sure) about a man sellilng snapping turtles online, I found the ad on kijijji in many cities, copied and pasted and sent it off to a few offices....this was in todays paper.

http://www.standard-freeholder.com/A...aspx?e=2498427

ILLEGAL TRADE
Posted By , NEWS@STANDARD-FREEHOLDER.COM
Posted 55 secs ago


(Staff ) -- A local man has been fined $4,000 for selling several species of snapping turtle on the Internet.

Stephen Shillingford was convicted of eight charges related to illegally selling and offering to sell specially protected and game wildlife under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.

On Mar. 10, Justice of the Peace Luc Guindon heard that between May 27 and June 26, 2009, Shillingford had offered up musk, western painted, midland painted, spiny softshell, spotted and common snapping turtles for sale on the Internet.


On June 25, he met with and sold common snapping and western painted turtles to a plainclothes conservation officer, police said.

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act prohibits keeping specially protected game and wildlife in captivity, except under the authority of a licence.

As of June 2008, species at risk, including the spotted, spiny softshell and musk (stinkpot) turtles from Ontario have additional protection under the Endangered Species Act.

To report a natural resources violation, call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667) toll-free any time or contact your local ministry officer during regular business hours.

You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-
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Old March 19th, 2010, 10:28 AM
Chris21711 Chris21711 is offline
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That is a great outcome

What really peeves me is if the MNR or F&W authorities are involved the fines are far superior than if somebody tortures a cat or dog.....Catch a fish you don't have a license to catch $10,000 and up.....torture a dog $50. I can't fathom it
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Old March 19th, 2010, 11:09 AM
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That is such great news. Happy to hear he was caught and good on you for bringing it to their attention.

ACO22

Last edited by NoahGrey; March 19th, 2010 at 11:14 AM.
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Old March 19th, 2010, 11:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Chris21711 View Post
What really peeves me is if the MNR or F&W authorities are involved the fines are far superior than if somebody tortures a cat or dog.....Catch a fish you don't have a license to catch $10,000 and up.....torture a dog $50. I can't fathom it
That's a very good point, Chris.

It's pretty much the same here.
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Old March 19th, 2010, 03:47 PM
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It's the same here too - shoot a deer or something without a license and you are in some serious doo-doo. Torture a cat, maybe a small fine but more likely nothing will happen. It's so sad.

Good job Melinda! If everyone sat back and thought that someone else would take of stuff, nothing would ever change. Good for you for sending that ad to the authorities!!!
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Old March 20th, 2010, 04:30 PM
t.pettet t.pettet is offline
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justice for turtles

Good work Melinda.
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  #7  
Old March 20th, 2010, 06:43 PM
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Very good article highlighting that wildlife is protected for a reason, and will be legally re-enforced if you try to exploit it. Buddy had what was coming to him so Kudos for anyone involved in bringing this guy down. Wildlife is protected in order to limit exploitation and keep vulnerable species in the wild where it belongs so it can reproduce and contribute to the biological diversity of the ecosystem.
It may not seem like much to remove a few turtles from a pond and try to cash a quick buck on them, but if no control was set into place we would find many of our native species being captured and sold to highest bidders, to the detriment of our country's biodiversity.
We also saw another example of wildlife conservation re-enforcement with the young men penalized for shooting ducks and posting the video on youtube for fun.
This is why penalties and fines are in place, unfortunately domestic animals are just that, domesticated, meaning they do not contribute to biological diversity for the ecosystems and are associated with humans, not with their role in the biological environment and are therefore excluded from regulation such as the The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.
Although cruelty to domesticated animals is obviously a huge area of concern it is off-topic for this thread.

Last edited by cell; March 20th, 2010 at 06:49 PM.
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Old March 20th, 2010, 06:51 PM
Chris21711 Chris21711 is offline
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Although cruelty to domesticated animals is obviously a huge area of concern it is off-topic for this thread.
My apologies that I strayed from the original topic
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  #9  
Old March 20th, 2010, 07:04 PM
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Great job, Melinda . Glad they put this guy out of business .

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Originally Posted by Chris21711 View Post
That is a great outcome

What really peeves me is if the MNR or F&W authorities are involved the fines are far superior than if somebody tortures a cat or dog.....Catch a fish you don't have a license to catch $10,000 and up.....torture a dog $50. I can't fathom it
I was thinking the exact same thing as I was reading Melinda's post . What a justice system.

Sorry, Melinda, hope my comment doesn't put a damper on your thread.
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Old March 20th, 2010, 07:30 PM
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Melinda Melinda is offline
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of course not!!! feel free to add what you want
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Old March 21st, 2010, 11:00 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Melinda View Post
last spring I notified the ministry and the spca (as many others did I'm sure) about a man sellilng snapping turtles online, I found the ad on kijijji in many cities, copied and pasted and sent it off to a few offices....this was in todays paper
Unbelievable It's said this guy has been around for a few years selling all different kinds of exotic reptiles on many forums . Wonderful you alerted the proper authorities
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Old March 21st, 2010, 06:39 PM
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I am so sure many others from around here notified them as well, but thanks GG and everyone
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  #13  
Old March 22nd, 2010, 08:46 AM
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Melinda: Our program along with others at the school are tagging wood turtles with radio devices again this year. Wood turtles are endangered in Ontario. Here is the link about it. It is from previous years, but still doing the same work I am in the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Technician Program

http://www.saultc.on.ca/Academics/Na...ciesAtRisk.asp

Its great to be in a program that is protecting our wildlife. I am proud to be apart of it

ACO22
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  #14  
Old March 22nd, 2010, 08:54 AM
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oh wow. thank you for the link!! It took me almost 8 yrs to get a "turtle" crossing sign put up on our street, I was getting tired of traffic stopped, I'd grab my welding gloves, branch and run out to drag the snapper off the road *L* I love when the babies come out. We always put them in my stainless tub (the nails on the sides drives me crazy) and drive them to the turtle pond where they were headed *L* I think they discovered if they stopped at our house they'd get a free ride!! turtle taxi service! I'm so glad you're a part of it now. I don't think I've ever seen a wood turtle around here.
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Old March 22nd, 2010, 05:33 PM
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Yes, gotta love the snapping turtles serisously, I have a soft spot for them. I remember once, I was driving home from work and see right in the middle of the road is a turtle(painted turtle). I was actually quite amazed that he made it as far as he did. I pulled over to the side of the road, ran to grab him and brought him over to the other side.

I remember I got a call from dispatch about a snapping turtle trying to cross the road, 4 lanes. I get them and see like 10 people trying to help it cross. It was great too see...in my field you see the worst most of the time.

ACO22
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  #16  
Old March 22nd, 2010, 06:14 PM
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oh I imagine you do see the worse at times, I have a soft place for snapping turtles also...I'll have to find my pic of the one that came to visit on mothers day, they use my yard to go from swamp to the river!

Last edited by Melinda; March 22nd, 2010 at 06:26 PM.
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  #17  
Old March 22nd, 2010, 06:26 PM
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this isn't the pic I was looking for, we're releasing this one, I'll have to check the other computer for it.



ohhhh can I ask you something, does a bit of paint on a painted turtle shell hurt them???
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  #18  
Old March 22nd, 2010, 08:34 PM
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thanks for posting the update on this guy/jerk.
I had reported the Kijiji ads, etc.
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  #19  
Old March 22nd, 2010, 08:57 PM
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Good for you Bina, where he'd meet his customers is about a 2 minute walk from my house! GG, you know where I mean, we took the dogs there and met that man that talked about the deer antlers.
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Old March 23rd, 2010, 09:40 AM
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Wow Melinda that's really close to your home and where you walk everyday imagine him opening his trenchcoat trying to sell a turtle to you

Quote:
Originally Posted by Melinda View Post
It took me almost 8 yrs to get a "turtle" crossing sign put up on our street
Only you but thanks for not giving up Dr Doolittle
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  #21  
Old March 23rd, 2010, 10:10 AM
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quit laughing at me GG *L* would you believe they put the sign up with no fanfare and I didn't notice till my son pointed it out to me one day saying "well you finally won mom".....*LOL* I was clueless which won't be a surprise to most on here *LOL*
I could imagine him opening his trench coat with a snapper hidden underneath....ouch!!!!
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Old March 23rd, 2010, 10:32 AM
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I always laugh with you You would think someone would of gladly contacted you telling you your slown down, turtle crossing sign was approved
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