What a birdbrain!
A bag of dead birds was discovered by US Customs and Border Patrol in the luggage of a passenger who traveled from China to a Washington, DC-area airport, authorities said.
The dead birds were packaged in a bag that had cartoon images of a dog and cat, US Customs said in a statement. Workers from the agency seized the birds at Dulles Airport near Washington on Jan. 27 from a passenger arriving from Beijing.
The passenger said the birds were cat food and he was planning to bring them to Maryland after his flight. The birds are not allowed into the United States out of fear they may spread avian flu, US Customs said.
The birds were “destroyed by incineration” with approval from the USDA, authorities 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,” said Casey Durst, director of field operations for the agency’s Baltimore field office.