Border patrol discovers 3 dead ducks, llama fetus at Houston airport

June 5 (UPI) -- Customs agents discovered a llama fetus and three dead ducks in luggage from passengers flying from Peru to Houston, authorities said Monday.

On May 30, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and agriculture specialists at George Bush Intercontinental Airport found the unusual prohibited agriculture items during inspections at the international terminal.

A traveler declared a llama fetus and various other agriculture products in her luggage. CBP agriculture specialists found packages that included a llama fetus, fresh llama fat, llama skin, soil, various seeds and tree bark. Because the traveler declared all items, she was not issued a penalty.

Also from the flight, officers discovered three dead ducks packed inside an unclaimed suitcase. The waterfowl are prohibited because, according to the CBP, "Ducks are potential carriers of some types of communicable diseases, such as avian influenza" that can be "introduced into the U.S. commercial poultry industry directly affecting the nation's food supply."

CBP noted on a typical day last year it discovered 4,638 materials for quarantine, including plants, meat and animal byproducts.

"Providing truthful declarations are beneficial to the passenger and the nation," said CBP Port Director Charles G. Perez. "There is no penalties for the passenger and the prohibited items are seized and destroyed before affecting our nation's agriculture resources."

The CBP lists prohibited and restricted items on its website.