In a significant case tackled by a federal judge in Brooklyn, two men have been sentenced for an unprecedented scale of bird mount trafficking. Dr. John Waldrop of Cataula, Georgia, received a heavy fine of $900,000—one of the largest for an Endangered Species Act case—and three years of probation. Toney Jones of Eufala, Alabama, faces six months of probation, as per the Department of Justice.
Pleading guilty in August 2024 to conspiracy to smuggle wildlife and violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Waldrop's collection boasted 1,401 taxidermy bird mounts and 2,594 eggs. Jones, admitting to an ESA charge, cast himself as the receiver of illicit packages for Waldrop. As smugglers often do, they operated online, trading through sites such as eBay and Etsy to acquire specimens from diverse corners of the globe, from Germany to South Africa.
Among the contraband were four eagles protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, over a hundred species listed in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and numerous bird and egg species safeguarded by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), according to court documents. Rare items such as three eggs of the Nordmann’s Greenshank, with an estimated 900 to 1,600 left in the wild, were found among Waldrop's possessions.
"Waldrop recruited Jones, who worked on his Georgia farm, to receive the packages," after several shipments were intercepted by USFWS inspectors at John F. Kennedy International Airport and elsewhere, according to the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). The seized collection, which is the largest in the 37-year history of the USFWS National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab, has been forfeited, according to the same press release.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the ENRD highlighted the case's significance, stating, "Waldrop’s gigantic and rare bird collection was bolstered in part by illegal imports, where he and his enlisted co-conspirators intentionally avoided permit and declaration requirements." Toney Jones also deposited approximately $525,000 into a bank account, which Waldrop used to mask his involvement and fund the trafficking operation, as noted by the Department of Justice.
The investigation, known as Operation Final Flight, was conducted by the USFWS Office of Law Enforcement in Valley Stream, New York, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors of the ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Karamigios for the Eastern District of New York led the prosecution.
