An X–ray image at Brisbane International Airport alerted AQIS officer Deb Long to something she had never seen in her two years on the job—three drinking mugs made from llama hooves packed into the suitcase of an Australian passenger returning from holidays in South America.

The returning resident rightly declared on his Incoming Passenger Card that he was carrying animal products, but even he was at a loss to describe the mugs except to say he thought they would make a good gift for friends and family.

Deb enlisted the help of shift supervisor, Lional Rajapakse, who recommended the mugs be sent to an AQIS vet to verify treatment needs and taxidermy concerns after a referral to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service for CITES came back as clear.

The verdict: the mugs required treatment by gamma irradiation and could then be released to the passenger.

It was only by chance that Deb was on the morning shift several weeks later with Argentinean born AQIS officer Dino Fabrizzi who shed light on the drinking mugs and their intended purpose.

The mugs are used in parts of South America to drink maté—a herbal beverage that can be drunk hot in the south or cool in the north, made by pouring hot water onto dried herbs/leaves which is left to infuse.

Maté is served with a metal straw/pipe (bombilla) and the beverage is sucked through this tube which also acts as sieve and is commonly served out of hollowed out gourds (a cucurbit related to pumpkins, melons and cucumbers). The drink on its own tastes quite bitter, but toasted sugar can be added to sweeten the taste.

It is a popular drink in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and is a common social practice in parts of Brazil, Chile, eastern Bolivia, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey where it is traditionally consumed in a social setting, such as family gatherings and with friends.