Border Agents May Have a Beef with Bringing Raw Meat into the Country

On a warm October day at Australia’s Sydney International Airport, biosecurity officers were screening luggage when they discovered more than 13 pounds of undeclared meat, including 4 pounds of beef. The officers acted fast, fining the traveler $2,664 and canceling his visa, forcing him to take the next flight home. Why such a serious response to some meat in a suitcase? The answer is that there are serious animal diseases that raw meat can carry, like Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD). Since neighboring Indonesia reported FMD earlier this year, Australia stepped up their national biosecurity measures. Travelers entering the country must declare whether they have had contact with farms or livestock, walk over a special pad with antiseptic to kill germs on their shoes, and have luggage inspected by canines and biosecurity officers. “Australia’s biosecurity measures demonstrate how seriously all countries should treat the threat of a foreign animal disease like FMD,” said NCBA Chief Veterinarian Kathy Simmons. “Constant vigilance is essential for protecting the cattle industry and agriculture as a whole from foreign animal diseases.” In the United States, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) share joint responsibility for preventing pests and diseases from entering the country. Every day, CBP screens more than 491,000 travelers entering the country by air, sea and land. CBP officers might discover 264 pests and quarantine 2,548 illicit plant, meat, animal and soil items on an average day, according to agency data. The threats posed by illicit meat products entering the U.S. are constant. On Oct. 27, Border Patrol agents at the Paso Del Norte border crossing in Texas seized more than 484 pounds of bologna and 285 pounds of cheese when a truck was screened driving through a border checkpoint. Last September, CBP officers at Dulles International Airport in Virginia seized 110 pounds of prohibited cow hides and dried beef. “These interceptions illustrate the very real threat that Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists combat every day in order to protect our nation’s natural resources and economic security, and they meet that challenge with extraordinary commitment and vigilance,” said Acting Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C., John Jurgutis, in an agency press release following the bust. Many illicit shipments are discovered by canine teams, affectionately nicknamed the Beagle Brigade. “Canines are a critical component to protecting our nation’s agricultural industries from the accidental or deliberate exposure to diseases or pests because the scent of a travelers’ forbidden fruit can’t escape our Beagle Brigade,” said Joseph Martella, area port director for CBP’s Area Port of Philadelphia. Currently, CBP operates more than 116 beagle brigade teams that screen materials at border crossings, airports, cruise terminals, cargo warehouses and mail facilities. Beagles are trained at the National Detector Dog Training Center in Georgia, which conducts 13 weeks of training for canines and their handlers under the purview of USDA-APHIS. To protect future funding for the National Detector Dog Training Center, NCBA announced support for the Beagle Brigade Act of 2022 in July. The bill would provide specific authorization for the training center, ensuring that canines would continue providing robust inspections at U.S. ports of entry. When illicit items are discovered by CBP officers and beagle brigade members, the products are seized and destroyed to prevent any pathogens from spreading. The punishment for failing to declare prohibited agriculture products is a civil infraction of $1,000, but in severe cases, when the items are declared “for commercial use,” penalties may run as high as $250,000. While CBP officers are protecting our nation’s borders to prevent the spread of foreign animal diseases, protecting your operation’s border is equally important. “CBP’s seizures of raw meat highlight the very real threat that foreign animal diseases pose to the cattle industry. All it takes is one missed infected item to possibly result in a full disease outbreak,” said Simmons. “Thankfully, programs like Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) provide producers with the tools to strengthen their biosecurity protocols to protect against disease. Following BQA practices, keeping good vaccination and health records, and developing a biosecurity plan are all crucial steps for protecting your farm or ranch.” Good biosecurity practices have only become more important since Foot-andMouth Disease (FMD) was discovered near Australia, one of our largest trading partners. The U.S. has remained FMD free since 1929, but the disease can move rapidly once cattle are exposed. To protect the U.S. herd against FMD, NCBA has continued supporting further investments in the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB). The bank was initially created in the 2018 Farm Bill following NCBA’s advocacy. Since its initial creation, we have continued pushing for more funding because, in the event of an FMD outbreak, having a dedicated supply of vaccines saves time when every hour is essential. Overall, FMD could be a severe economic hit to the cattle industry. Exports of U.S. beef — worth more than $10 billion in 2021 — would cease overnight while corn and soybean farmers would also lose billions. The stakes are high for preventing the spread of a foreign animal disease, which is why so many agencies, industry groups and individual producers are involved in protecting U.S. animal agriculture. From the law enforcement officers inspecting goods at ports of entry to producers building biosecurity plans to NCBA pushing for federal dollars, everyone works together to guard against the possible threat of a foreign animal disease. “Protecting the cattle industry is a shared responsibility,” said Simmons. “NCBA will continue doing our part to keep federal agencies working to protect the U.S. cattle herd, and I hope all cattle producers will join us by making biosecurity practices part of your operation.” To learn more about biosecurity, visit the Checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance website at BQA.org.