OKLAHOMA CITY – A former employee of the Oklahoma City Zoo pleaded guilty in federal court here this month to a felony charge of wildlife trafficking, Robert J. Troester, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, announced.
Joshua Taylor Lucas, 30, of Austin, Texas, was charged in April 2020 with violating the Lacey Act. Among other offenses, the Lacey Act prohibits people from importing, exporting, transporting, selling, receiving, acquiring or purchasing any fish, wildlife, or plant that was taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of any law, treaty or regulation of the United States or in violation of any tribal law.
Lucas pleaded guilty to taking an endangered species of wildlife and then selling and shipping the animals across state lines in April 2016. He admitted he stole several Galapagos tortoise hatchlings during his tenure at the Zoo. Lucas further admitted that he sold and shipped 21 Galapagos tortoise hatchlings to a Nevada resident, Kenneth Warren Foose II.
Lucas formerly was an assistant curator of herpetology at the OKC Zoo. Herpetology is a branch of zoology that focuses on reptiles and amphibians.
At Lucas’ combined plea and sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Bernard Jones accepted the guilty plea and sentenced Lucas to three years of probation, perform 100 hours of community service, and pay $32,500 in restitution to the Oklahoma City Zoo.
Foose owned Exotic Pets retail pet store in Las Vegas, Nev. He was indicted in Southern District Federal Court of Texas in Corpus Christi in 2019 on a charge of illegal trafficking of Galapagos tortoises in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
Foose told the court that he had “a lifelong passion for animals.” He said that after he received a Captive Bred Wildlife permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1991, he bought his first Galapagos tortoise hatchling from the OKC Zoo.
Foose, 61, died in late August 2020, and the federal government closed his case two months later.
“The exploitation and trafficking of endangered wildlife for personal profit is unacceptable,” Troester said. “I commend the steadfast efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the prosecutors in this case, who are committed to hold traffickers of endangered animals accountable.”
“This investigation involved the illegal traffic of endangered Galapagos tortoises for the exotic pet trade,” said Phillip Land, special agent in charge for the U.S. FWS Office of Law Enforcement for the Southwestern U.S. “This iconic species is the largest tortoise in the world, with hatchling-sized juveniles carrying a black market value starting at $5,000 per animal. Our special agents and wildlife inspectors make it a priority to identify, investigate, and dismantle illegal trafficking networks.”