Redwood City, Calif. Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Federally-Protected Eagle Owls

Department of Justice, Dec 12, 2006

Jeffrey A. Diaz of Redwood City, Calif., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in San Francisco to two felony counts of smuggling live eggs from federally-protected eagle owl eggs (Bubo bubo) and two felony counts of making false statements to federal agents, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced.

Diaz was charged by federal grand jury in January 2006 with two felony counts of smuggling live eagle owl eggs on two occasions from Austria to the United States during the Christian and Orthodox Easter holidays in March and April 2005. In an effort to disguise the owl eggs, Diaz partially painted them to resemble Easter eggs. He then placed them in an Easter basket with plastic grass and hand warmers that temporarily incubated the eggs while being transported. He was also charged with making false statements to federal law enforcement authorities, a felony, in connection with the eagle owl smuggling. In March 2006, special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, arrested Diaz at his residence. Three of the smuggled eggs eventually hatched and the birds are currently being cared for in area wildlife centers.

Eagle owls are native to Asia, Europe and the Middle East and are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty through which the United States and more than 150 other countries protect certain species of fish, wildlife, and plants against over exploitation by regulating trade in the species.

Diaz pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court before the Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel in San Francisco. Diaz could receive up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each felony charge. No sentencing date has been set.