Man Guilty of Selling Illegal Sharks from Hudson Valley Home

It's simply incredulous to think that some people in the "wildlife business" have absolutely no love or regard for animals whatsoever.   Driven by greed and motivated my money, the exploitation of wild animals for ones financial sake is a most egregious crime and one that some might say should come with greater consequences.  Let's hope this changes over time. 

On Wednesday it was reported that a  Dutchess County man was convicted and sentenced for the crime he committed against various wildlife; some of them sandbar sharks, a protected species under New York law according to News 10 ABC.  

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The man responsible for committing the crime is Joshua Seguine, 40, from LeGrangeville, NY, located roughly 80 miles south of Albany.

The report indicates that Seguine pleaded guilty to "Illegal Commercialization of Fish, Shellfish, Crustaceans, and Wildlife for illegally possessing with intent to sell seven sandbar sharks."

The report states that investigators had been eyeballing Sequine for years, determining that he may have been selling sharks from his New York home dating back to 2017.  A thorough search discovered that in fact he was.  Seguine had an above-ground pool that contained seven live sandbar sharks.

According to the report, authorities also unearthed  "two dead leopard sharks, one dead hammerhead shark, and the snout of a smalltooth sawfish (an endangered species)."

Seguine must pay a $5,000 fine and sentenced to a conditional discharge.

If you're anything like me, you can't get enough when it comes to observing wildlife.  Heck, I spent a week driving Yellowstone National Park a few years ago trying to catch a glimpse of something that I'd never see here in the Capital Region.  It was remarkable. We saw moose, elk, some coyotes and a bear among the things.

And while these incredible animals took my breathe away in their natural habitat,  it goes without saying that I never dreamed of taking a bison out of Yellowstone to bring back home with me in Albany.