Transportation Security Administration screening equipment flagged a “large organic mass” in a traveler’s carry-on April 15. TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said that can mean explosives.
“The TSA officers opened the bag, they saw the moose poop inside,” Farbstein said after talking with the local officers. “And the passenger told the TSA officers that he collects this and likes to present it, ‘For politicians and their bleep policies.’ ”
They sent him and his sack on their way. Farbstein said it didn’t warrant an incident report, but it was shared with the TSA social media team, which spun out pun-filled posts on Instagram and Twitter.
Yes, you can bring moose poop to a checkpoint! And someone did last week at Juneau Int’l Airport. @TSA has no policy preventing people
— TSAmedia_LisaF (@TSAmedia_LisaF) April 23, 2019
from traveling with animal poop, but check with your airline on its policies
because having to leave souvenir poop behind would be crappy. pic.twitter.com/6aW5ALpSE4
Those posts had a few misleading details about the passenger’s motivation, in service of humor and a teachable moment.
[TSA takes to social media to highlight weird stuff agents found in travelers’ bags]
[Anchorage airport seeks traveler who left human ashes at security checkpoint]
“TSA actually will screen just about anything people bring to the checkpoint,” Farbstein said. “But it is smart — and if it’s more on the unusual side — to check with an airline to see if they have any limits or restrictions as it relates to what it is you want to bring.”
On the same day, a man was handing out baggies of moose nuggets on the steps of the Capitol, as ADN reporter James Brooks tweeted.
This protester is on the steps of the #akleg pic.twitter.com/s8RJFlourL
— James Brooks (@AK_OK) April 15, 2019
The man was protesting Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget.
This article originally appeared at KTOO.org and is republished here with permission.