Quebec Woman Pleads Guilty to Selling Protected Wildlife Skulls

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A Quebec woman has pleaded guilty to trafficking in protected wildlife, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.

Vanessa Rondeau, 27, of Montreal, Quebec, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to one count of trafficking in protected wildlife. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, Rondeau agreed to sell a polar bear skull to an undercover U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Special Agent for $780 USD in January 2020. She then entered the U.S. at the Champlain, NY port of entry with the polar bear skull and proceeded to send it to the agent in Amherst, NY.

Rondeau also agreed to sell another polar bear skull for $584.11 USD in January 2021. The total value of the wildlife illegally trafficked by Rondeau was approximately $37,204.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, under the direction of Ryan Noel, Special Agent-in-Charge of the USFWS-Office of Law Enforcement North-Atlantic Appalachian Region. Additional assistance was provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Vermont Offices of Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 9, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Vilardo.

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