Brandon man sentenced for trafficking migratory songbirds: SAO
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BRANDON, Fla. (WFLA) — A Brandon man has been sentenced after he was found guilty of trafficking migratory songbirds, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Ernesto Gonzalez Campos, 36, sold and traded indigo and painted buntings, and rose-breasted and blue grosbeaks between 2020 and 2021. These birds are all protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
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Court documents show that Campos engaged in the ongoing capture, sale, and trade of these protected songbirds. He would trap the birds from the wild and sell them within the songbird community once they were tamed.
Campos became the sixth person to be sentenced in “Operation Ornery Birds II,” a Florida-wide investigation conducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
He was sentenced to 18 months probation, including a $1,000 fine and 50 hours of community service, after being found guilty on Nov. 30.
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