Iowa woman tries to bring box of giraffe POO in her luggage after picking up feces on Kenya trip in hopes of making it into a necklace
Iowa woman tries to carry a box of giraffe poop in her luggage after collecting feces during a trip to Kenya, hoping to make a necklace from it
- A woman brought it with her on a trip from Kenya in hopes of making it into a necklace
- They do not risk sanctions because she has declared the feces to Customs
- The agency destroyed the giraffe feces, citing its potential to spread disease
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Federal customs agents foiled the plans of an Iowa woman who wanted to make jewelry from giraffe poop she picked up on a trip to Kenya after bringing it to the U.S. in her luggage.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the woman turned over the small box of feces when she was selected to have her belongings inspected upon arrival at Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport on September 29.
The woman, who was not identified, told officials she planned to use the waste to make a necklace, as she had done in the past with moose poop.
Giraffe poop can be brought back to the U.S. with proper permits and inspections, the U.S. State Department said Public Radio Minnesota.
The station reports that the woman does not risk sanctions because she declared the stool and handed it over to customs.
This undated photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows a small box of giraffe feces seized from a passenger arriving from Kenya in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, September 29
Sneaking into the airport, she said, would have cost her a fine of somewhere between $300 and $1,000. CBS News.
The agency’s agricultural specialists destroyed the giraffe poop.
“There is a real danger in bringing fecal matter into the U.S.,” LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, field director for Customs and Border Protection in Chicago, said in a statement.
“If this person had entered the U.S. and not declared these items, there is a good chance someone could have contracted an illness and developed serious health problems from this jewelry.”
African swine fever, classical swine fever, Newcastle disease, foot and mouth disease and swine vesicular disease are among the diseases in Kenya listed as risks by customs.
The woman handed over the stool container when she was selected to have her belongings inspected upon arrival at Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport on September 29, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Giraffe poop can be brought back to the US with proper permits and inspections
“CBP agriculture specialists mitigate the threat of non-native pests, diseases and contaminants entering the United States,” said Augustine Moore, CBP Area Port Director-Minnesota.
‘Agricultural specialists have extensive training and experience in biological and agricultural sciences. They inspect travelers and cargo entering the United States by air, land and seaports.”
Bringing feces of any kind into the United States generally requires a veterinary services permit.