DFW Airport

Fido's Chicken Lollies Seized by Customs at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport

CBP warns internationally-purchased pet treats pose risks to pets

chicken flavored lollipops
NBC 5 News/CBP

A shipment of chicken-flavored lollipops headed for Texas was seized last week at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The CBP said agriculture specialists working at the airport "intercepted a shipment of prohibited and restricted pet treats" on April 14 that was listed on a manifest as men's sweaters.

The shipment did not contain sweaters, the CBP said, but instead were 93 chicken-flavored lollipops with rawhide stems. The pet treats were being shipped from Hong Kong to Highland, Texas, the CBP said.

"Consumers are unaware that some international goods and products are prohibited or restricted because of the potential agriculture or biological risks associated with that product," explained Dallas CBP Port Director Tim Lemaux. "When we encounter suspicious shipments, we examine them and then act accordingly. In this case, we seized the shipment to protect our nation's agriculture industry."

The CBP said those items are not allowed in the US due to animal disease concerns and that all of the lollipops in the shipment were destroyed by steam sterilization.

"CBP agriculture specialists work to exclude the introduction of foreign animal diseases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza, Newcastle disease, foot, and mouth disease, classical swine fever, and swine vesicular disease. These diseases can harm chicken, turkey flocks, and or harm pigs," the CBP said in a statement Wednesday.

The CBP said that on a typical day last year they intercepted and quarantined more than 3,000 items including plant, meat, animal byproduct, and soil.

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