Georgia man indicted for illegally trafficking hundreds of protected birds, thousands of eggs

HARRIS COUNTY, Ga. — Two men were indicted last week for trafficking protected birds, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Both 74-year-old John Waldrop, of Cataula, Georgia, and 53-year-old Toney Jones of Eufaula, Alabama were indicted after officials said they illegally imported hundreds of taxidermy bird mounts and thousands of eggs into the United States.

The men are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, violation of the Endangered Species Act and money laundering charges.

The indictment alleges that Waldrop and Jones trafficked these birds between Jan. 1, 2016, and Dec. 10, 2020.

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Officials said Waldrop and Jones allegedly used online sales sites such as eBay and Etsy to buy birds and eggs from around the world, from places like Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.

Officials said the two men did not import any live birds.

“The Endangered Species Act is a vital law in the fight against international trafficking of protected wildlife,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “Rare and endangered birds have important roles in their habitats, and we are committed to preventing and deterring their unlawful removal.”

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Waldrop and Jones imported and collected different protected birds like a canary, dipper, duck, eagle, falcon, grouse, gull, hawk, heron, hoopoe, kestrel, kinglet, lapwing, murre, owl, parrot, pochard, rail, teal, snipe, spoonbill, vulture and woodpecker.

The indictment also charged Waldrop and Jones with importing three packages with birds and eggs in 2020 through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The packages had a Levant sparrowhawk, a grasshopper buzzard-hawk, two gull eggs, two murre eggs and one unidentified bird egg.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of 779 bird mounts and 2,594 eggs alleged to have been illegally imported into the United States.

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