NYC man pleads guilty to selling cougar head, other exotic animal parts to undercover investigator

A New York City man has pleaded guilty to attempting to sell prohibited wild animal parts, including a cougar head. 

Usher Weiss, 26, met with an undercover investigator for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on Nov. 2, 2023, according to a news release from the department. The two met at a basement in Brooklyn, where Weiss gave the undercover investigator a cougar head mount for $900. Weiss also offered a "full cheetah head mount" for $10,000, the news release said. 

Weiss and the investigator met a second time in December, where he handed the undercover investigator the cheetah head mount and multiple other animal remains, including the skull of a big cat, the skin of a seal pup and a bird mount. 

Weiss also had a full taxidermied alligator, a tiger skin, a cheetah skin and an elephant foot, the news release said. 

Weiss was charged with violating environmental conservation laws. He pleaded guilty on Thursday. 

As part of his plea, Weiss must pay a $5,000 fine. He also had to surrender all additional contraband in his possession. Weiss surrendered the taxidermied alligator, animal skins and elephant foot to the Department of Environmental Conservation in April. He also surrendered other contraband, but the department did not share details of what it was.  

"We're committed to stopping the illegal wildlife trade in our communities, and by prosecuting cases like this, we're not just enforcing the law — we're sending a strong message that protecting endangered species from harm is a priority," District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in the news release. 

In:
• Environment
• Illegal Wildlife Trafficking

Kerry Breen

Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.

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