Monkey Carcass Seized at O'Hare Airport

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport found a monkey carcass in one traveler’s luggage on April 11. (cbp.gov) The monkey remains were discovered after officers sent a passenger arriving from Cameroon to a secondary agriculture inspection and an X-ray showed an anomaly in the bag. Customs said the carcass was detained and destroyed under partner-agency directives because of human health concerns. (cbp.gov) That same day, a second traveler arriving from Liberia was caught with eight boxes containing meat, bones and hair hidden inside dried seafood. The traveler told officers the concealed meat was beef, and specialists seized 125 pounds of prohibited ruminant meat, plus one pound of fresh leaves and four types of seeds meant for planting. (cbp.gov) The case turned on agriculture rules as much as customs screening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says bushmeat is illegal to bring into the United States in any amount, and seized bushmeat is destroyed along with personal items that touched it. (cdc.gov) Federal rules also block many meat imports from places where foot-and-mouth disease exists. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says fresh meat from ruminants or swine from those regions is prohibited unless a specific exception applies. (ecfr.gov) Customs said seafood is generally allowed, but ruminant meat from some regions is not because of diseases including bovine spongiform encephalopathy and foot-and-mouth disease. Those are the risks officers cited in the Liberia seizure. (cbp.gov) O’Hare handles enough international traffic that agriculture screening is a daily border job, not a rare event. Airports Council International World ranked O’Hare the world’s eighth-busiest airport for passengers in 2024 and second-busiest for aircraft movements. (chicago.gov) Chicago field operations acting director Michael Pfeiffer said agriculture specialists are trying to stop non-native pests, plant diseases and animal diseases from entering the country. CBP said travelers who bring in plant or animal products without declaring them can face civil or criminal penalties. (cbp.gov) At O’Hare on April 11, that meant one suitcase from Cameroon and eight boxes from Liberia never made it past inspection. Both seizures ended with the goods confiscated or destroyed before they could enter the United States. (cbp.gov)