The small box of ball-shaped droppings was declared by a woman returning from Kenya to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport in the US.

She told officials from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that she had previously made a necklace from moose faeces at her home in Iowa.

The box was seized by CBP agriculture specialists and destroyed via steam sterilisation in accordance with government protocol.

A CBP spokesperson said: “There is a real danger with ringing faecal matter into the US. If this person had entered the US and had not declared these items, there is high possibility a person could have contracted a disease from this jewellery and developed serious health issues.”