Passenger Found With Moose Droppings in Their Carry On

On April 15 the TSA discovered moose poop in a passenger’s carry on at the Juneau, Alaska airport during a security screening. The airport security agency pointed out their rules do not prohibit bringing this through a checkpoint, but an individual airline may object to bringing it on board.

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Mondays can really stink. After a weekend of relaxation, the first day back at work can be hard to deal with. Here’s a nugget of wisdom to help get you through the day: “Monday is the day where the slate from the previous week is wiped clean; It is a day of new beginnings.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Our team at Juneau International Airport (JNU) recently dealt with “nuggets” of a different variety when examining a passenger’s carry-on bag. Upon inspection, a large organic mass turned out to be a bag of moose nuggets (or feces, droppings, excrements, etc.) that the passenger was taking home from their Alaskan adventure. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ While TSA has no policies that would prevent you from traveling with a bag of animal poo, we would strongly suggest that you check with your airline on their policies. Several carriers do have rules in place to avoid smelly situations aboard their planes. Besides, having to leave your souvenirs behind would really stink. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #travel #traveling #traveltips #aviationlife #Juneau #Alaska #OnlyInAlaska

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Earlier in the day a protester in the city was handing out moose droppings on the steps of the state capitol, in opposition to the state’s budget on tax day.

Reportedly the passenger hands the excrement to politicians he disagrees with.

I guess if your schtick is handing out moose poop to politicians, you’ll need to have it with you at all times in case you run into one. And if you want to protest at the state capitol without living there, you’re going to have to bring the moose poop with you — and bring any leftovers home.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Who took the photo and thought it was okay to re-post it? Perhaps it is only representative, and not the actual contents of the carry-on.
    Anyway, a case could be made that it is not inert non-hazardous material. It definitely violates the 3 ounce rule. Just because it doesn’t have a warning label or come with an MSDS document, doesn’t mean it is safe. In fact, since it has no packaging with warning statements, it would be assumed to be hazardous or unknown.
    Definitely has no place on the secure side of the TSA checkpoint.

  2. I camped on a bed of moose poo in Nova Scotia.

    No smell.

    There were so many thousands of pounds of poo pellets on the ground in the National Park after winter that they simply plow it to the sides of the campground.

  3. @John – they are indeed tiny. This is in part because moose (and related animals) are able to extract the vast majority of moisture from their food during digestion, leaving a much smaller scat. This is in contrast to animals whose systems are much less efficient. (Diet also plays a part, too. When vegetation is more plentiful the scat will be a bit more loose.)

    There are a number of folks who make gag gifts and such from moose poop. We saw a lady selling them at a stall in the Homer, AK market last summer. Google “moose turd gifts”.

    Bringing this on the plane probably only adds a minor amount to the overall fecal matter onboard! 🙂

  4. @Ryan, I’m evaluating the idea of moose as house pets. Or maybe a guard moose. On the other hand, moose probably piss a lot. 🙂

  5. As an Alaska resident with a yard full of moose nuggets, old dried ones are completely inert, basically compacted grass. I guarantee you that virtually every door knob you touch has much worse on it. City slickers…

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