Mangled mammal meat might have been the logical outcome that most superhero fans pictured when Batman took on Superman, but the potential outcome this bat meat posed to mortals was much more real, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports.
CBP agriculture specialists at Washington Dulles International Airport discovered 3 pounds, 8 ounces of charred bat meat on April 5 in the baggage of a Germantown, Md., man who arrived from Ghana.
Bat, or “bushmeat,” is a routine protein staple in Africa. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bushmeat is illegal to import to the U.S. and bats are known vector species for zoonotic diseases, such as Ebola. CBP seized the bat meat and turned it over to CDC for further examination.
Additionally, CBP agriculture specialists said they discovered a combined 12 pounds of tetraplura, eggplants and turkey berries in the man’s baggage. CBP seized and destroyed the fruit products and released the traveler.
“Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists play a very challenging frontline role in protecting the public, our nation’s agricultural industries, and our economic vitality every day against the deliberate or accidental introduction of potentially crippling animal diseases that may be carried in passenger baggage,” Daniel Escobedo, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C., said in a release “CBP strongly encourages all international travelers to know what they can and cannot pack in their baggage before visiting the United States.”
Among the more common inadmissible or prohibited agriculture products that passengers pack in their baggage or carry with them on the airplane are fruits, bushmeat, traditional meat dishes from family overseas, sandwiches or pizza from airport concessions, and propagative plants. Read more about products that are prohibited or inadmissible.
CBP agriculture specialists perform a critical border security role in safeguarding America’s agricultural and natural resources from harmful pests and plant diseases. They have extensive training and experience in the biological sciences and agricultural inspection, and they inspect tens of thousands of international air passengers, and air and sea cargoes being imported to the U.S.. During a typical day last year, CBP agriculture specialists across the nation seized 4,552 prohibited plant, meat, animal byproducts, and soil, and intercepted 319 insect pests at U.S. ports of entry.
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Federal Agents Prevent Smuggled Animal Products from Entering the U.S.
Ordinary to Outrageous: Top 10 Agricultural Seizures of 2021
