2 Birds Carried In Open Box On Flight From Dubai Seized By Dulles Airport Customs Officers

DULLES, VA — Customs officials at Washington Dulles International Airport seized two birds from a woman who arrived on a July 16 fight from Dubai in the United Areb Emirates.

Airline representatives notified U.S. Customs and Border Protection that a passenger on the flight was transporting two birds in an open cardboard box inside a plastic bag, according to CBP. The airline also reported that the passenger had not notified attendants at the gate in Dubai that she was bringing the birds onto the flight.

When the flight arrived in Virginia, CBP agricultural specialists secured the birds in a filtered crate and took them to the agency's agriculture quarantine inspections lab.

The birds were examined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Veterinary Services. They were identified as juvenile White-eared Bulbuls, which are not protected or endangered species, according to the CBP. USDA's Veterinary Services confirmed that the passenger did not possess veterinary certifications to export the birds from Iraq and import them to the U.S.

The woman, who was a naturalized U.S. citizen from Iraq, was taken for a secondary examination of her baggage. During that examination, CBP agriculture specialists found chicken seasoning and wooden sticks, which were prohibited items. They were seized because the presented a potential threat to U.S. agriculture.

The birds remained in the custody of the USDA and the woman was released by CBP to continue her journey.

“Customs and Border Protection’s agriculture protection mission is vital to our nation’s economic vitality, and CBP agriculture specialists work tirelessly to protect our livestock industries, and particularly our poultry industry, against the introduction of pathogenic diseases,” said Christine Waugh, acting area port director for CBP’s Area Port of Washington, D.C. “CBP remains steadfastly committed to ensuring our agriculture industries remain vibrant by intercepting animal and plant diseases, federal noxious weeds, and hitchhiking invasive insects when we encounter them at our nation’s international ports of entry.”