Charred Bat Meat Discovered In Traveler's Baggage At Washington Dulles Airport

DULLES, VA — Agriculture specialists with U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently found 3 pounds and 8 ounces of charred bat meat in the baggage of a traveler arriving on a flight from Ghana at Washington Dulles International Airport, according to a release.

Although bat meat is a routine protein staple in Africa, it is illegal to import bushmeat into the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, bats are known vectors for zoonotic diseases such as Ebola.

CBP agriculture specialists seized the bat meat from the baggage of a Germantown, Maryland, man on April 5 and submitted it to the CDC for testing. The bag also contained a combined total of 12 pounds of tetrapleura, eggplants and turkey berries, which the CBP also seized and then destroyed as prohibited fruit.

“Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists play a very challenging frontline role in protecting the public, our nation’s agricultural industries, and our economic vitality every day against the deliberate or accidental introduction of potentially crippling animal diseases that may be carried in passenger baggage,” Daniel Escobedo, CBP’s area port director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C., said in a release. “CBP strongly encourages all international travelers to know what they can and cannot pack in their baggage before visiting the United States.”

During a typical day in 2021, CBP agricultural specialists seized 4,552 prohibited plants, meat, animal byproducts and soil, and intercepted 319 insect pests at ports of entry across the U.S.