An Aransas Pass woman has entered a guilty plea for smuggling highly rare chicken eggs into the country, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani disclosed this week. The smuggling case revolves around the Dong Tao chicken breed, also known as Dragon chickens, prized for their extraordinary leg size and hailing from Vietnam.
Jennifer Mayo, 46, was caught illicitly bringing 60 Dragon chicken eggs from Vietnam and Cambodia into the United States in August 2023. Despite her initial claim that the hatched birds died, authorities found several live Dong Tao chickens at her residence, which later had to be euthanized due to health reasons. Importing poultry from countries battling highly pathogenic avian influenza is outlawed, and both Vietnam and Cambodia, for instance, have regions grappling with this disease.
The U.S. Department of Justice reported that Vietnam and Cambodia are known affected areas and not certified as free of Newcastle disease in their commercial poultry populations - intensifying the risks linked to Mayo's actions. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service guidelines clearly list these regions as problematic regarding poultry health safety.
Slated for sentencing on January 23, 2025, Mayo potentially faces a hefty punishment, including a prison sentence of up to 20 years and a $250,000 maximum fine. Despite the serious nature of her crime, Mayo continues to remain on bond pending the sentencing hearing. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, aided by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Liesel Roscher and Tyler Foster take the helm in the prosecution of this particularly unusual case of wildlife smuggling.
