Exotic animals often make headlines for being illegally transported to a country they shouldn’t be but what about their droppings? Customs officials in Minnesota seized a box of giraffe feces from a traveler who arrived from Kenya that planned on using the droppings to make a necklace.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the Iowa resident was chosen for inspection by agriculture specialists upon arriving at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport from a trip to Kenya, Africa.
“The passenger declared giraffe feces and stated she had obtained the droppings in Kenya and planned to make a necklace,” CBP said. “The passenger also stated in the past she had used moose feces at her home in Iowa.”
The CBP specialists seized the box from the traveler and quickly destroyed the contents via steam sterilization. “There is a real danger with bringing fecal matter into the U.S.,” said LaFonda Sutton-Burke, CBP’s director of field operations for the Chicago Field Office. “If this person had entered the U.S. and had not declared these items, there is high possibility a person could have contracted a disease from this jewelry and developed serious health issues.”
According to the CBP, any feces that is brought into the United States from overseas must require a veterinary services permit for admittance.
Source: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/unusual-repurpose-giraffe-feces-seized-minnesota