This Customs and Border Protection dog wasn’t roaming around.
A federal agency dog, and one with an unusually sensitive nose, smelled four mummified monkeys that a person was attempting to enter the United States from Africa after landing at Boston’s Logan International Airport last month. I smelled it. Officials recently revealed this.
The federal department said in a news release Friday that the illegally transported “dead and dehydrated” monkey was discovered inside a suitcase on Jan. 9 during a preliminary inspection by a K9 named Buddy.
Badi, a passenger aboard Delta Flight 225 from Paris while returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, alerted his handler to a particular piece of luggage that led authorities to question the passenger.
The unidentified person claimed it only contained dried fish. CBP said X-rays of the bag showed only fish, but further inspection of the bag revealed the carcasses of four monkeys.
Raw or minimally processed meat from wild animals caught in certain parts of the world, including Africa, is called bushmeat and can carry infectious diseases, officials said.
“The potential dangers posed by bringing bushmeat into the United States are real,” Julio Caravia, CBP Boston District Port Director, said in a statement.
“Bushmeat can contain bacteria that can cause diseases such as the Ebola virus. The work of CBP’s K9 units and agricultural experts is critical to preventing this potential hazard from entering the United States.” This was extremely important in preventing this.”
CBP called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and asked health officials to either destroy the package or send it back to France.
Approximately 4 kilograms, or nearly 9 pounds, of bushmeat was seized by the CDC and marked for destruction.
