Bull semen smuggled in Thermos bottle

May 5, 2010
By TONY BLAIS, QMI Agency

EDMONTON - Did you hear the one about the Alberta cowboy who got hit with a hefty fine after being busted trying to smuggle bull semen across the border in his pickup truck?

Well, it's no bull.

Devin William Warrilow, 22, was dinged $5,000 Tuesday after pleading guilty in Edmonton provincial court to a charge under the Health of Animals Act for failing to present goods to a Canada Border Services Agency inspector.

The Minburn man, whose family runs an Angus operation near the small village 173 km southeast of Edmonton, also had to forfeit the 14 straws (samples) of bovine germplasm, commonly referred to as bull semen, that he tried to smuggle.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Warrilow and a male passenger arrived at the Canada customs office of Del Bonita, Alta. -- three km north of the U.S. border -- about 5:20 p.m. on Feb. 26, 2008, after driving from the United States in his pickup truck.

Warrilow told the customs officer he had been in the U.S. for three days after entering in North Dakota and said he was travelling and visiting various ranches in the area.

Warrilow declared he had bought $260 worth of goods, including two tins of chewing tobacco, two containers of Excedrin, six bottles of body wash, shoes and firearm reloading tools and supplies.

However, the customs officer noted Warrilow "appeared nervous, avoided eye contact and was hesitant replying" so he referred the pair for a secondary examination.

At that point, officers began looking through the pickup and noticed there was a semen nitrogen tank in the box.

When questioned, Warrilow said it was empty because he planned on picking up some semen in Taber.

After verifying this, the officer looked in the engine compartment and found three boxes of undeclared Excedrin bottles stored in the front passenger fender well.

The officer also located a Thermos bottle, painted with a sand/dust coloured textured paint, in the fan shroud near the radiator which contained 14 straws.

When asked about it, Warrilow admitted it was bull semen and said he had no paperwork to cover it.

Court heard a Canadian Food Inspection Agency import permit, a zoosanitary export certificate and a border inspection are required to import frozen semen. Warrilow was then detained.

In a written statement, Warrilow said the reason he hid the bull semen was because he had heard it took three hours to clear semen through the border and he was trying to avoid the delay.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/05/05/13829371-qmi.html