Thread: Monkey Meat is Confiscated at Dulles

"African traveler" goes merrily on his way without penalty!

Monkey Meat Is Confiscated at Dulles

By Jonathan Mummolo (Contact)
Originally published at 5:00 p.m., December 8, 2008
Updated at 9:35 p.m., December 8, 2008

Customs officials searching the bags of an African man who flew into Dulles International Airport on Friday discovered three charred monkeys in his luggage, as well as deer meat and dried beef, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said yesterday.

The man was traveling from Bangui in Central African Republic, a small country north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He admitted he was carrying the meat, a common food in parts of Africa, after a trained dog alerted authorities to the man's bag, customs spokesman Steve Sapp said.

The monkey carcasses, inadmissible under U.S. law, were confiscated and are being inspected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; monkeys can easily introduce infectious diseases to humans, Sapp said. The other meat was destroyed, and the man was allowed to enter the country without penalty, Sapp said.

Foreigners visiting the United States sometimes try to bring with them exotic foods that are part of their native cuisines, especially around the holidays. But this was "a first for many of us," Sapp said.

Primates are a common food source in the Central African region, said Heather E. Eves, director of the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, a nonprofit that researches the trade in African "bushmeat," the flesh of wild animals. Eves said that the monkeys' charred appearance comes from the animals' being smoked and that the meat is typically used to make stew.

Primates are also known to carry diseases such as monkeypox, HIV/AIDS and Ebola, she said.

The traveler was not identified because he was not arrested, Sapp said. Foreigners who attempt to conceal agricultural products from customs officials can face fines, usually about $300, Sapp said.

"If they're not trying to hide anything from us, they're not being combative . . . we let them go on their way," Sapp said.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.

http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/ ... s-airport/

NY judge: Religion aside, monkey meat needs permit

The Associated Press 1:00 p.m. January 3, 2009

NEW YORK — A federal judge in Brooklyn has rejected a Liberian woman's religious reasons for smuggling endangered monkey meat into the country.

U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie ruled Wednesday that Mamie Manneh's faith didn't preclude her from applying for permits to import exotic food or explain why she misled officials.

Manneh was charged with smuggling the meat three years ago after customs agents seized a shipment of primate parts as it passed through Kennedy Airport on the way to her home in Staten Island.

Manneh's lawyers claimed a First Amendment right, arguing that some

Liberian Christians eat monkey meat for spiritual reasons.

Her lawyer didn't respond to phone messages Saturday.

She faces up to five years in prison and deportation if convicted.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/ ... ndex=31528

What kind of work does the guy do, is he a chef?

Primates are also known to carry diseases such as monkeypox, HIV/AIDS and Ebola, she said.

Thats the problem. Not the monkey meat, but the diseases it might carry along with it.

Whats next? Defending a pygmy or head hunters rights to cannibalism because of his religion? Oh! thats right! i forgot we need cellibrate diversity and a pygmy or headhunter is a citizen of the world

Maybe he could teach a college course?

I read an article today that said Customs caught a guy bringing in barbecued BATS.

Article now at:

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-142186.html

Darn! I was so waiting for charred monkey nuggets, but that will not happen.
These guys just admitted him into the country and let him go on his way? WHAAT? How the pudding did they know that he was not diseased handling these monkeys? How do we know that anyone that comes to visit this country (and perhaps never leave) is not diseased?