DALLAS — Officials say a Kansas man faces charges after law enforcement personnel intercepted shipments of stingrays and exotic fish at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
The man, who hasn't been named, had freshwater stingrays and boulengerella shipped to the airport, where he planned to pick them up and drive them to Kansas, the Texas Game Wardens said.
Charges filed and cases pending on a Kansas person having freshwater stingrays and boulengerella (both of which are on Texas’ invasive species list) shipped to DFW Airport. He was going to transport them back to Kansas via vehicle (also illegal to possess in Oklahoma). pic.twitter.com/Ndi58H78Rq
— Texas Game Warden (@TexasGameWarden) April 2, 2019
Both the stingrays and boulengerella -- a freshwater fish native to South America -- are on Texas’ invasive species list, making them illegal to own in Texas. They’re also illegal in Oklahoma.
The shipment was discovered by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inspector at the airport, NBC DFW reported. The stingrays and fish were in bags of water between bunches of newspaper in a shipping crate.
The animals were found alive, but because they are considered exotic invasive species and due to the harm that they can pose to our native ecosystem, they were euthanized and kept for evidence, officials told NBC DFW.
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