U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detected and confiscated 470 pounds of Mexican bologna in two apprehensions during February at border crossings in New Mexico.
Illegal introduction of meat products into the U.S. represents an extreme risk to our livestock. It is questioned whether U.S. CBP have adequate resources in the form of detection dogs and trained personnel to detect smuggled meat and other contraband that could serve as a vehicle to introduce exotic infections into the U.S.
Although CBP detected more than 3,000 prohibited plants, meat, or animal byproducts each day during 2020, as with smuggling of illicit drugs, it is the quantity that is not interdicted that is important to the economy and the health of livestock.