Woman’s giraffe poop collection seized at airport, ruining her art project, feds say

A woman was stopped by airport security in Minnesota after an inspection of her luggage revealed a stash of giraffe poop, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The woman was returning to the U.S. from Kenya and arrived at the Minneapolis—St. Paul Airport on Sept. 29, officials said in a Oct. 5 news release.

Her luggage was selected for inspection by “CBP agriculture specialists,” officials said. When they lifted the lid off a tiny box she had declared, the specialists found 14 pieces of giraffe poop along with a single seashell.

The woman said she collected the giraffe excrement in Kenya and was going to make a necklace out of it once she was back at her Iowa home, according to officials. She had made poop necklaces before, using moose droppings, she told officials.

“There is a real danger with bringing fecal matter into the U.S.,” said LaFonda Sutton-Burke, CBP director of field operations in the Chicago Field Office. “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 jewelry and developed serious health issues.”

Diseases such as African swine fever, Newcastle disease, foot and mouth disease and others are impacting Kenya, according to customs officials.

The box and the poop within were seized and destroyed, officials said.

This story was originally published October 5, 2023 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Woman’s giraffe poop collection seized at airport, ruining her art project, feds say."