Authorities seize giraffe feces
Associated Press – October 5, 2023 / 6:05pm | Story: 450713
Photo: Canadian Press
This undated photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows a small box containing giraffe feces seized from a passenger arriving from Kenya in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Paul International Airport, September 29, 2023. The unidentified passenger told authorities he intended to use the waste to make necklaces, as he had done in the past with moose feces. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP)
Federal customs agents made a fuss over an Iowa woman’s plan to make jewelry from giraffe feces she picked up during a trip to Kenya and brought back to the United States in her luggage.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the woman declared a small box containing feces when her bag was searched upon arrival at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport on September 29th.
The unidentified woman told authorities she planned to use the waste to make necklaces, as she had done in the past with moose feces.
Giraffe feces can be brought back to the United States with proper permits and testing. minnesota public radio. The department said that because the woman had declared the stool and submitted it to customs, she would not be sanctioned.
Agricultural experts from the agency disposed of the giraffe feces.
“There are real dangers in bringing feces into the United States,” LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Customs and Border Protection’s Chicago Field Director, said in a statement. “If this person entered the United States and did not declare these items, it is likely that this jewelry would have exposed them to the disease and caused them to develop serious health problems.”
Kenyan diseases cited by Customs as risks include African swine fever, classical swine fever, Newcastle disease, foot-and-mouth disease and swine bullosa.
