Passenger caught with box full of giraffe poop at Minnesota airport

MINNEAPOLIS (KMPH) — It’s normal to bring items back home from an overseas trip. Things like magnets, postcards, clothes, and so on. But giraffe poop?

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, someone came back from Kenya on Sept. 29 and was picked for inspection by CBP agriculture specialists at Saint Paul International Airport.

The passenger told Border Protection that she had brought the feces back and wanted to use it to create a necklace. She also mentioned to inspectors that she previously used moose poop in Iowa.

That’s when CBP decided to destroy the box, along with the giraffe feces, per USDA protocol.

There is a real danger with bringing fecal matter into the U.S.,” said CBP Director LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke with Field Operations-Chicago Field Office. “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.”

CBP says Kenya is known to be impacted by several diseases, such as Newcastle disease, African Swine Fever and many others.