Two vacationers at Dulles airport this month have been stopped with an array of surprising gadgets — together with dried seahorses, useless snakes, an ointment made with snails and drugs with snake oil, officers mentioned Wednesday.
Both vacationers flew into Dulles from Vietnam, Customs and Border Protection authorities mentioned. One traveler additionally had uncertified pork merchandise that would have launched African swine fever and swine vesicular illness to the U.S., officers mentioned.
The first traveler, who arrived on Aug. 1 and was headed to Fairfax, Virginia, additionally had 77 dry seahorses, 5 jars of snail ointment and 5 useless snakes, officers mentioned. The second traveler, who arrived on Aug. 4 and was headed to San Francisco, had the prohibited pork merchandise and 50 packing containers of an natural drugs that listed snake oil in its substances.
Agriculture specialists from Customs and Border Protection seized all the merchandise and turned them over to inspectors from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Dried seahorses are utilized in conventional drugs in a number of international locations. They’re believed to have greater than 200 therapeutic properties, based on the World Wildlife Fund. Snakes, snails and snail slime are additionally generally utilized in conventional drugs.
“Though we could think about some animal-based merchandise to be uncommon, folks in different elements of the world could think about them to be regular. However, vacationers visiting the United States ought to perceive that Customs and Border Protection is dedicated to defending our nation’s agricultural industries and implementing our wildlife and import legal guidelines which can outcome within the seizure of their animal-based merchandise,” Christine Waugh with Customs and Border Protection mentioned.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, a global settlement, is designed to make sure the commerce of animals and crops doesn’t threaten their survival within the wild. The worldwide wildlife commerce, which incorporates stay specimens, is estimated to be within the billions of {dollars}, based on customs officers.
In a recent incident, U.S. Border Patrol brokers found a migrant had a backpack full of seven spider monkeys, officers mentioned. Spider monkeys are thought of critically endangered and are among the many 25 most threatened primates on the planet, based on the Wildlife Conservation Society.
