Georgia Collector Slapped with $900,000 Fine Amid Largest Taxidermied Bird Case in U.S. History

A pair of Georgia men got their wings clipped in court this week in what’s being called the biggest bird mount trafficking case in U.S. history. Dr. John Waldrop of Cataula, Georgia, and Toney Jones of Eufala, Alabama, thought they could play fast and loose with Mother Nature’s rarest treasures and found out the hard way that they couldn’t. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Brooklyn dropped the hammer, and the fallout is nothing short of jaw-dropping.

According to case reports, between the years of 2016 to 2020, Dr. Waldrop was secretly amassing an endangered bird mount collection that would make any ornithologist’s heart skip a beat stop entirely. In total, investigators uncovered upwards of 1,400 taxidermy bird mounts and over 2,500 eggs, all meticulously gathered over the years. His collection included four notable eagle species, 179 other bird species, plus 193 types of eggs, all of which remain shielded by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 

In addition to that, he was also found with 212 other bird species and 32 egg types so rare they’re locked down by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). His haul even included three eggs from a Nordmann’s Greenshank, an Asian shorebird with maybe 1,600 friends left out in the wild. 

“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.”

According to reports, Waldrop did not act alone, enlisting Jones, who worked on his farm, to help smuggle feathered contraband into the U.S., after USFWS officials intercepted a few of his packages at JFK. Together, the pair continued to use 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.

While there’s no evidence pointing to the fact that Waldrop killed the birds himself, officials note that “by purchasing them, he created the demand that fueled poaching and wildlife trafficking. He also exacerbated pressure on species by targeting animals in their prime that are needed to reproduce and maintain their habitat.” 

The two men were eventually brought down by a multi-agency sting operation titled Operation Final Flight. Put on by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in tandem with the Postal Inspection Service and Alabama wildlife officials, enough evidence was gathered to eventually swoop in and seize the endangered bird mounts. The National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab was shocked at the volume of endangered avian species that were uncovered calling it the largest bird mount seizure in U.S. history.

In August of last year, Waldrop entered a guilty plea to conspiracy and Endangered Species Act violations and was handed a hefty $900,000 fine - one of the largest ever handed down for an ESA case. His accomplice, Mr. Toney Jones fared much better, getting handed just six months worth of probation.

“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.”