Man Stopped by TSA with Dead Cougar in Luggage

Man Stopped by TSA with Dead Cougar in Luggage

It’s time again where somebody tries to get something on a plane that is rather interesting.  Earlier this year we wrote about a woman being arrested at Dulles with animal brains and other parts in her luggage.   Then of course, there’s the record number of guns the TSA confiscated in 2016.

Well, the newest odd thing comes from Las Vegas’ McCarren  International Airport, where a man tried to sneak the carcass of a cougar past security.

The Transportation Security Administration stopped the man’s luggage.  The cougar had a proper tag from Utah State Fish and Game, but the TSA wanted to confirm that the tag was legal and the taking of the animal was within Utah state law.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

The man ended up shipping the cougar home, but not on the airplane, airport spokeswoman Melissa Nunnery said. Nunnery did not know where the carcass was being shipped to.

“It is not a crime to transport game that is legal to possess via airlines,” Gordon said. “However, airlines reserve the right to tell passengers they do not want to transport certain items.”

Nevada Division of Wildlife spokesman Doug Nielsen said the organization wasn’t notified of the incident, and therefore he had no further information on it. Speaking generally, Nielsen said the organization is supposed to be notified if there’s any evidence of wrongdoing.

For a rugged place out west, where hunting and other outdoor activities are par for the course, this may not seem all that out of the ordinary.  But it still makes for another interesting story about the things TSA finds in people’s luggage.