Ocelots cost a lot, defendants discover
Representatives of an Illinois Valley wildlife park and a corporation in Ithaca, N.Y. were in U.S. District Court in Portland last week “in connection with a national scheme to sell rare endangered ocelots,” according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
The animals are protected by the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).
USFWS said that on Sept. 10, Great Cats World Park in rural Cave Junction was placed on probation for a year by U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman. The park was ordered to make a $10,000 community service payment to the Endangered Species Justice Fund.
The wildlife park, said USFWS, “acting through President Craig Wagner, pleaded guilty in June to shipping an endangered ocelot for a commercial purpose in interstate commerce. The organization purchased an ocelot from the Temple of Isis in Geyersville, Calif.; shipped it to Minnesota, and falsified a federal form by claiming the ocelot had been donated.
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“In fact, the organization paid $3,000 for the cat,” said the federal agency.
It added that on Sept. 13, Finger Lakes International Inc., of Ithaca, pleaded guilty to violating the Endangered Species Act by illegally purchasing and transporting two ocelots in the course of commercial activities.
The ocelots were purchased from Deborah Walding, of Beaverton, who was convicted of illegal ocelot trafficking in 2005, and transported by Glenn Donnelly to New York, according to FWS. Trial was set for Dec. 3.
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These cases, investigated by FWS as “Operation Cat Tale, stemmed from a larger trafficking ring that centered on the illegal activities of the Isis Society for Inspirational Studies, also known as the Temple of Isis.
Following a plea of “guilty,” the society was ordered to pay a $60,000 community service payment to the Endangered Species Justice Fund and serve two years federal probation.
