The giraffe poop was taken and "destroyed" by steam sterilisation.
In a shocking incident, a woman was stopped at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by Customs and Border Patrol in the United States after she brought giraffe poop from Kenya, as per a report in CBS News. The woman informed the officials that she wanted to use the giraffe faeces to make a necklace.
The incident took place on September 29 after she was selected for inspection by agriculture specialists, according to Customs and Border Patrol officers. The Iowa woman stated that she obtained the poop while she was on her vacation in Kenya and wanted to make jewellery out of it. She even added that this is not the first time she would use animal poop to make jewellery and had also used moose faeces in the past.
Further, the giraffe poop was taken and "destroyed" by steam sterilisation, as per the United States Department of Agriculture destruction protocol. US Customs and Border Patrol's Chicago Field Director LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke said in a press release, "There is a real danger with bringing faecal matter into the US. 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 jewellery and developed serious health issues."
The agency also stated that there is a permit required for entry of such animal waste to the country and that Kenya is affected with African swine fever, classical swine fever, Newcastle disease, foot and mouth disease and swine vesicular disease.
According to Minnesota Public Radio, the woman who was transporting the giraffe poop won't be facing any sanctions since she disclosed the waste and turned it over to customs officers. If she had attempted to smuggle the faeces past the airport security personnel, she may have been subject to a fine of $300 to $1,000.