Man fined for carrying dead snakes, birds on international flight

Photo: Man fined for carrying dead snakes, birds on international flight

Man fined for carrying dead snakes, birds on international flight

Flying dead snakes and birds inside luggage from South Korea to Atlanta cost US$800 (EUR577) a man, who has been fined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Last month, security officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport found 30 snakes, a dead bird and pieces of several other birds in his luggage.

The animals were all dead, but screeners took extra precautions because U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers warned that some of the snakes, which were packed inside jars and bottles, could still contain venom.

The passenger's name has not been released.

The animals were inside boxes checked as luggage on a Korean Air flight, which arrived in Atlanta on Aug. 15.

Federal Transportation Security Administration officials say international baggage is routinely screened and it is not unusual to find animals and animal parts.

But such a large number of animals is odd, they said.

Airport officials said they did not know what the man planned to do with the animals.