Eufaula man sentenced in ‘largest-ever' taxidermy bird, egg trafficking plot

Yahoo

15-04-2025

DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — A Eufaula man accused of helping a Georgia doctor smuggle in thousands of illegal taxidermy birds and eggs into U.S. has been sentenced.
A statement from the Department of Justice revealed Toney Jones, of Eufaula, was sentenced to six months probation after pleading guilty to an Endangered Species Act charge.
The second suspect in the case, Dr. John Waldrop of Cataula, Georgia, was sentenced to serve three years of probation and pay a $900,000 fine. He pled guilty to conspiracy to smuggle wildlife and ESA violations.
According to the DOJ, Waldrop, with Jones' help, amassed a collection of 1,401 taxidermy bird mounts and 2,594 eggs. This included:
Four eagles protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
179 bird and 193 egg species that were listed on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
212 bird and 32 egg species covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
'This included incredibly rare specimens like three eggs of the Nordmann's Greenshank, an Asian shorebird with only 900 to 1,600 remaining birds in the wild; no North American museum has any Nordmann Greenshank eggs in their collection,' the DOJ said in its statement.
The birds and eggs were imported without the required declarations and permits between 2016 and 2020.
Previously unsealed indictments for Jones and Dr. Waldrop claim that the two used online sites like eBay and Etsy to buy the hundreds of taxidermized bird mounts and thousands of live eggs from countries including Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
DOJ attorneys say that federal inspectors intercepted several packages at John F. Kennedy airport, Waldrop recruited Jones, who worked on the doctor's Georgia farm, to receive the packages.
Jones was also accused of depositing around $525,000 in a bank account used by Waldrop to pay for the imports and hide his involvement.
'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,' said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). 'We applaud the efforts of the various federal and state law enforcement entities in investigating and prosecuting this case.'
Attorneys previously said Waldrop collected protected avian species such as canary, dipper, duck, eagle, falcon, grouse, gull, hawk, heron, hoopoe, kestrel, kinglet, lapwing, murre, owl, parrot, pochard, rail, teal, snipe, spoonbill, vulture and woodpecker.
USFWS National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab said tat after examining Waldrop's forfeited collection, it was determined to be the 'largest seizure of bird mounts in their 37-year history.'
'The scale of this investigation underscores the critical importance of protecting our natural resources,' said Assistant Director Douglas Ault of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Office of Law Enforcement. 'Waldrop's collection included thousands of bird specimens and eggs, many of which are among the rarest in the world. This is one of the largest bird trafficking cases in history, and the commercialization of species protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and CITES highlights the conservation impact of Waldrop's crimes. We at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement are unwavering in our commitment to safeguarding wildlife for future generations. We will remain vigilant and will continue to hold accountable those who exploit our shared natural resources for personal gain.'
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