Florida man who collects body parts of endangered animals sent to prison

A Florida man who collects skulls, full skeletons and other body parts of a variety of animals has been sentenced to a year in prison for trafficking endangered species, federal authorities said Wednesday.

Steven Griffin, 36, communicated with an undercover wildlife agent for more than two years to negotiate the sale and purchase of endangered and threatened animals. He even drove to Texas once to buy two Southern White rhino horns, four elephant ivory tusks, one African lion skull and three leopard skulls — all of which he illegally transported to Palm Harbor, Fla., according to prosecutors.

Throughout their communications, Griffin repeatedly told the undercover agent that he owned body parts of lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, elephants and rhinos, authorities said. He also sent numerous photos of his personal collection and of items on his wish list to the agent via text message.

Griffin paid nearly $10,000 in cash for animal parts during the undercover investigation, according to a news release.

The convicted trafficker was eventually charged with receiving and transporting endangered species in violation of the Endangered Species Act and for possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon. Records show he previously faced burglary charges in Florida’s Pinellas County.

Griffin pleaded guilty to the federal wildlife charges in November.

A U.S. district judge in Tampa sentenced him to 12 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit two pairs of rhino horns, four African elephant ivory tusks, one African lion skull, three leopard skulls, 10 firearms and ammunition.

“This sentence sends a clear message to wildlife traffickers that we and our law enforcement partners are in the business of identifying and apprehending those who exploit protected species for commercial gain,” Phillip Land, special agent in charge of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said in a statement.