CBP Agriculture K9 Detects Prohibited Animal Products in Philadelphia
“Potter,” a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture detector dog, helped seize nearly 14 pounds of prohibited food products at the Philadelphia International Airport in December.
He alerted a CBP agriculture specialist about the baggage of two travelers who arrived on a flight from Albania. During a secondary examination, agents discovered 6.2 kilograms of raw unknown meat, pork hot dogs and raw ruminant tripe, 2.2 kilograms of fresh leeks, and two kilograms of fresh chestnuts. Within the chestnuts, they found two live insects, Cydia splendana (Tortricidae), a chestnut tortrix moth common to Europe, and Curculio sp. (Curculionidae), a nut weevil, according to CBP.
Agents immediately seized and destroyed the prohibited food products and released the travelers to continue their visit to Philadelphia, the statement said.
“Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists protect our nation from a variety of potential agriculture threats every day, including these raw meat products that may carry an economy-damaging animal disease,” Casey Durst, Director of Field Operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office, said in the statement. “CBP agriculture specialists continue to exercise extraordinary vigilance in their fight to protect our nation’s agriculture and economic prosperity from invasive pests and animal diseases.”
CBP agriculture specialists perform a critical border security role in safeguarding America’s agricultural and natural resources from harmful pests and diseases, the statement said. Foreign animal diseases such as African swine fever (ASF) have heightened security protocols.
At present, ASF has never been reported in the U.S., Canada, Australia or New Zealand. One of the most important things you can do to help protect the U.S. pork industry is to be a good traveler. Read more at https://www.porkbusiness.com/article/traveling-abroad-5-ways-you-can-protect-pork-industry.
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
Traveling Abroad? 5 Ways You Can Protect the Pork Industry
Foreign Animal Disease: Preparing for the Worst
Australia Deports Vietnamese Man Carrying Undeclared Pork into Sydney
