Jonathan Dale Benton:US Customs officials seize giraffe feces from woman at Minnesota airport

2025-04-29 08:35:37source:Kacper Sobieskicategory:Invest

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal customs agents pooh-poohed the plans of an Iowa woman who wanted to make jewelry from giraffe feces she picked up on Jonathan Dale Bentona trip to Kenya and brought back to the U.S. in her luggage.

The woman declared the small box of feces when she was selected to have her belongings inspected upon arriving at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport on Sept. 29, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The woman, who was not identified, told officials she planned to use the waste to make a necklace, as she had done in the past with moose poop.

Giraffe poop can be brought back to the U.S. with the proper permits and inspections, according to Minnesota Public Radio. The station reported that the woman won’t face sanctions because she declared the feces and gave it to Customs.

The agency’s agriculture specialists destroyed the giraffe poop.

“There is a real danger with bringing fecal matter into the U.S.,” Customs and Border Protection’s Chicago field Director LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke said in a statement. “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.”

African swine fever, classical swine fever, Newcastle disease, foot-and-mouth disease and swine vesicular disease are among ailments in Kenya that Customs cited as risks.

More:Invest

Recommend

PACCAR recalls over 220,000 trucks for safety system issue: See affected models

PACCAR is recalling over 220,000 of its 2021-2025 Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks.  The commercial tru

The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10

CHICAGO (AP) — A jury awarded nearly $80 million to the family of a 10-year-old Chicago girl who was

11 highlights from Trump's Time Person of the Year interview

Washington — President-elect Donald Trump was namedTime magazine's Person of the Year on Thursday, t