A Eufaula man was charged with a violation to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), his Georgia cohort receiving one of the “largest ever” fines.
Toney Jones of Eufaula was sentenced to six months of probation for the violation, but Dr. John Waldrop, a Columbus, Georgia, doctor, was ordered to pay $900,000 and serve three years probation for conspiracy to smuggle wildlife and ESA violations.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Waldrop amassed an extensive collection of 1,401 taxidermy bird mounts and 2,594 eggs which included:
- Four eagles protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act,
- 179 bird and 193 egg species listed in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and
- 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.
“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).
The DOJ says Waldrop imported birds and eggs without the required declarations and permits, eventually recruiting Jones, who worked on Waldrop’s Georgia farm, to receive the packages.
Jones also deposited about $525,000 in a bank account Waldrop used to pay for the imports and hide his involvement.
Waldrop and Jones used online sales sites such as eBay and Etsy to buy birds and eggs from around the world, including Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
