Boston Logan Airport in Massachusetts, USA, saw four unusual arrivals last month. In news that has only just been made public, the airport has told press that in January it discovered four mummified monkeys in a passenger’s luggage.
Dead and dehydrated
The macabre import was found by sniffer dogs. Initially the passenger, who was returning to the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo, told authorities the luggage contained dried fish, but further examination revealed four dead and dehydrated monkeys.
The flyer insisted he wanted to import the monkeys not for sale but for his own consumption, according to Ryan Bissette, a Customs and Border Protection (CPB) representative. Although the would-be importer has not been charged, his belongings have been seized and the 9lb (4kg) of monkey carcass were set aside for destruction by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What is bushmeat?
Meat from wild animals that has undergone little to no processing or cooking is known as “bushmeat”. It is an important protein source for some inhabitants of rural communities, mostly in tropical forest regions. Species consumed include bats, marsupials, primates, rodents and ungulates. In many countries, including the USA however, bushmeat is banned because of the risk it poses of introducing diseases to the animal and human population.
“The potential dangers posed by bringing bushmeat into the United States are real. Bushmeat can carry germs that can cause illness, including the Ebola virus,” said Julio Caravia, a local port director for CPB.
Strains of HIV have been said by some researchers to have originated from African bushmeat hunters.
From poison dart frogs to pangolins
The monkey mummies are the second such incident reported in less than a month. A woman flying via Bogota to Sao Paulo was arrested for wildlife trafficking in January, when 130 harlequin frogs were found in canisters in her baggage. The tiny amphibians, also known as clown frogs or painted frogs as well as “poison-dart-frogs” were still alive but in a pitiful condition, stressed and dehydrated, according to authorities.
The American continent is not the only one with a bushmeat problem. European law enforcement undertook a major operation in October 2023, seizing more than 2,000 illegally imported consignments of endangered animals and protected timber.
Paris and Brussels are widely thought to be significant bushmeat import hubs but hard-pressed airport authorities cannot keep up with the smugglers, who are believed to be bringing around 3.9 tonnes of bushmeat, including crocodiles, monkeys, and pangolins, through Brussels alone each month.
