Overview

• Dr. John Waldrop of Georgia was sentenced to pay a $900,000 fine, serve three years of probation, and forfeit his extensive illegal collection of bird mounts and eggs.
• Waldrop's collection included over 1,400 taxidermy bird mounts and 2,500 eggs, with specimens from endangered species like the Nordmann’s Greenshank and bald eagles.
• The operation, spanning 2016 to 2020, involved smuggling wildlife from multiple countries using platforms like eBay and Etsy without proper permits or declarations.
• Toney Jones, Waldrop's accomplice, received six months of probation for helping obscure the illegal activities, including handling $525,000 in transactions to conceal Waldrop's identity.
• Federal investigation under Operation Final Flight uncovered the largest-ever seizure of bird mounts in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service history, highlighting the global scale of illegal wildlife trade.