Federal officials seized a sealed package containing dead birds at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
A passenger who arrived from Beijing, China, on Jan. 27 placed the birds in a small purple bag with images of cartoon dogs and cats on the purple package that was discovered during a baggage examination, authorities said on Monday. The traveler told U.S. Customs and Border Protection the birds were cat food and intended for an address in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
“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,” said Casey Durst, director of field operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office.
“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,” Durst said.
The flock of dead birds was seized on behalf of the Agriculture Department and “destroyed by incineration,” according to a press release.
