Bag of tiny dead birds seized in Washington

(KYMA, KECY)-You've heard of smuggling drugs, but what about dead birds?

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Washington, D.C., seized a package of tiny dead birds from a passenger's luggage traveling from China.

Agents say the traveler arrived in D.C. on a flight from China on January 27.

During an examination, agriculture specialists discovered a package containing several small birds.

CBP says the package had pictures of a cat and dog that the passenger said was 'cat food.'

The package, according to officials, contained a bunch of unknown small birds, about 2.5 to 3.5 inches in length.

The species of the birds are unknown, however, they are banned in the U.S., from China because of their potential to carry bird flu.

“These dead birds are prohibited from importation to the United States as unprocessed birds pose a potentially significant disease threat to our nation’s poultry industries and more alarmingly to our citizens as potential vectors of avian influenza,” said Casey Durst, Director of Field Operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office.