Photo: MAXIM MARMUR/AFP/Getty Images
Authorities reported Wednesday that two travelers were detained at Dulles Airport in Washington with a variety of unusual items, including dried seahorses, dead snakes, a salve made from snails, and medicines with snake oil.
Both travelers flew into Dulles from Vietnamaccording to the Customs and Border Protection authorities.
One of the travelers also carried non-certified pork products that could have introduced African swine fever and swine vesicular disease to the United States, authorities said.
The first traveler, who arrived on August 1 and was headed for Fairfax, Virginia, also had 77 dried seahorses, five bottles of snail ointment and five dead snakes.
While the second traveler, who arrived on August 4 and was headed for San Francisco, had pork products banned and 50 boxes of a herbal medicine which included snake oil among its ingredients.
Agricultural specialists from Customs and Border Protection seized all the produce and turned it over to inspectors from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Dried seahorses are used in traditional medicine in several countries. They are believed to have more than 200 therapeutic properties, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
On other hand, snakes, snails and snail slime are also commonly used in traditional medicine.
“While we may consider some animal products unusual, people in other parts of the world may consider them normal. However, travelers visiting the United States should understand that Customs and Border Protection is committed to protecting our nation’s agricultural industries and enforcing our import and wildlife laws, which may result in the seizure of your source products. animal,” Christine Waugh of Customs and Border Protection told CBS News.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement, is designed to ensure that trade in animals and plants does not threaten their survival in the wild.
In a recent incident, US Border Patrol agents discovered a migrant carrying a backpack filled with seven spider monkeys.
Spider monkeys are considered critically endangered and are among the 25 most endangered primates in the world, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.
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