US Customs officials seize giraffe feces from woman at Minnesota airport
Federal customs agents pooh-poohed the plans of an Iowa woman who wanted to make jewelry from giraffe feces she picked up on a trip to Kenya and brought back to the U.S. in her luggage.
The woman declared the small box of feces when she was selected to have her belongings inspected upon arriving at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport on Sept. 29, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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 the proper permits and inspections, according to Minnesota Public Radio. The station reported that the woman won't face sanctions because she declared the feces and gave it to Customs.
The agency's agriculture specialists destroyed the giraffe poop.
"There is a real danger with bringing fecal matter into the U.S.," Customs and Border Protection's Chicago field Director LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke said in a statement. "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."
African swine fever, classical swine fever, Newcastle disease, foot-and-mouth disease and swine vesicular disease are among ailments in Kenya that Customs cited as risks.