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Be Aware and Declare upon Re-Entry U.S. Customs and Border Protection Seized over 660,000 Kilograms in Pork Products in Fiscal Year 2018

Earlier this month, a Guelph, Ontario, man was ordered to pay $20,000 in fines for trying to transport undeclared test tubes in his checked luggage. The seven vials contained peste des petits ruminants virus, Newcastle disease virus, duck adenovirus 1 and parainfluenza virus 5. [Source: National Hog Farmer 1 March 2019 by Ann Hess]

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Gang Li arrived Jan. 24 by air at Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, and was intercepted by the Canadian Border Services Agency after test tubes of unknown substances were found in his checked baggage, which he failed to declare upon arrival. Laboratory testing later confirmed the substances were viruses, which Li did not have any permits or documentation for.

He was convicted of contravening section 16(1) of Canada's Health of Animals Act and section 51(a) Health of Animals Regulations.

While this particular case from up North was pretty extreme, it had me thinking about the 23 shipments of prohibited animal products from China that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists recently took down. How much will those people be fined?

According to Anthony Bucci, CBP public affairs specialist, the fines and charges for those type of offenses vary and this one will be dependent on findings associated with the investigations conducted by the CBP as well as the USDA's Investigative and Enforcement Services.

However, Bucci says for the individual traveler trying to enter a port of entry with a prohibited agriculture product, the fines can be upwards of $1,000.

"The basic penalty stipulations for a passenger can range from $300 to $1,000," Bucci says.

It begs the question though, are those penalties steep enough? During Fiscal Year 2018 (Oct. 1, 2017-Sept. 30, 2018), there were 2,477 emergency action notifications associated with swine products and swine byproducts through cargo. This represented over 360,000 kilograms of swine products.

During the same time frame, in the passenger environment, there were 190,251 agriculture passenger inspections associated with swine products and over 300,000 kilograms of swine products were intercepted.

"CBP agriculture specialists made critical interceptions of these prohibited animal products and stopped them from entering the United States before they could potentially cause grave damage to our agricultural and economic vitality," says Troy Miller, director of Field Operations in the New York Field Office.

What about those international travelers who aren't bringing anything in with them, but have visited a farm recently?

According to Paul Sundberg with the Swine Health Information Center, when returning to the United States after visiting a farm or being in contact with animals in a country (or countries) with African swine fever, or any other foreign animal disease, travelers need to declare this information to the CBP via written form, airport kiosk or verbally. They should then be diverted for a secondary screening by an ag specialist. But what if they don't disclose in the first place?

Bucci says there's currently no penalty for dishonest travelers who have been to a farm in an FAD-infected country and there's presently no way to detect for that at ports of entry.

"We strongly encourage all travelers to declare if they have been on a farm or around livestock," Bucci says. "This assists CBP to properly conduct safeguarding which includes cleaning and disinfection of any article, footwear, clothes, etc., that may be contaminated with animal material, residue, etc."

One might say it's an honor system our industry is deeply dependent upon. While fines may not be deterring some individuals from trying to bring items in, CBP agricultural specialists and the Beagle Brigade are there every day, intercepting those prohibited products and ensuring our industry's safety. Even though we may follow all the rules and procedures when returning to the United States, we might want to take note from our neighbors to the North and remind our friends and international guests to #BeAwareandDeclare.