U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists seized a package of tiny dead birds in a passenger's baggage at Washington Dulles International Airport.
A traveler arrived on a flight from Beijing, China on Jan. 27 and was going to an address in Prince George's County, Maryland. During a baggage examination, CBP specialists discovered a package with pictures of a cat and dog that the passenger said was cat food.
The package contained small dead birds, each about 2.5 to 3.5 inches long.
The birds from China are prohibited due to the potential threat of avian influenza.
The birds were seized on behalf of U.S. Department of Agriculture and destroyed by incineration.
“These dead birds are prohibited from importation to the United States as unprocessed birds pose a potentially significant disease threat to our nation’s poultry industries and more alarmingly to our citizens as potential vectors of avian influenza,” Casey Durst, Director of Field Operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office, said. “Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists continue to exercise extraordinary vigilance every day in their fight to protect our nation’s agricultural and economic prosperity from invasive pests and animal diseases.”
