On October 22, 2001 Gilles Deslisle of St. Raymond, (Quebec, Canada) was sentenced by the Honourable Judge J. E. Godfrey of the Vancouver Provincial Court to a fine of $50,000.00 for the unlawful importation of 6 endangered butterflies. In addition, Judge Godfrey imposed a 5 year prohibition on the trade, import and export of Ornithoptera alexandrae butterflies. All seized butterflies were ordered forfeit to the Crown.

The charges stemmed from an incident which took place on September 28, 1998. A mail parcel was intercepted at the Customs Mail Centre in Vancouver, B.C. The mail parcel contained a "hollowed out" hardcover book with six CITES Appendix I birdwing butterflies (Ornithoptera alexandrae) secreted inside. A lengthy investigation by officers of the Wildlife Enforcement revealed that the originator of the package was a villager from Papua New Guinea. Working with the Office of Environment and Conservation of Papua New Guinea, the Wildlife Enforcement Section was able to arrange for immunity from prosecution for the villager and arrange for his travel to Canada and testimony against Mr. Deslisle. The evidence showed that Deslisle conspired with the villager to smuggle the butterflies knowing that the activity was contrary to the laws of Papua New Guinea and Canada. A representative of the government of Papua New Guinea also traveled to Canada to testify as to the laws of Papua New Guinea.

Gilles Deslisle is a renowned researcher in this field and has published several scientific articles with respect to Ornithoptera sp. The Judge, in her comments at sentencing, stressed that even in the pursuit of scientific research individuals cannot believe that "they know best" and that they are not above the law. Mr. Deslisle was convicted and received a fine of $25,000.00 on each of two counts ($50,000.00 total). One count of importing wildlife which was taken in contravention of a foreign law under s. 6(1) the Wild Animals and Plants Protection and Regulations of Interprovincial and International Trade act (WAPPRIITA) and one count of importing wildlife without a permit under s. 6(2) WAPPRIITA.