Limit on meat brought back into USA from Canada?

OP
GeorgeShaw
Joined
Mar 25, 2024
Messages
21
Location
Troy, Ohio

MattB

WKR
Joined
Sep 29, 2012
Messages
5,667
A friend of mine killed a moose in Canada and the guide wouldn't fly out his meat.....even though they had a t otter. The guide told him "that's how we feed our bears".

Hopefully you don't have the same outfit as the meat portion was just the tip of the iceberg for the letdowns he had.
What was he told about meat when he talked with the outfitter prior to booking?

I’d have been inclined to tell the guide that bears can’t tell what kind of meat they are eating….
————
I’ve driven on 2 moose hunts in Canada and brought all the meat home. Never a question.
 

MattB

WKR
Joined
Sep 29, 2012
Messages
5,667
I was doing an online search actually to see if there were restrictions on bringing back some bones to make stock, and pulled up an USDA page that said you are allowed to bring back cervix meat(elk, moose, etc) with a valid hunting license, and a limit of 50lb per vehicle.
I would be sure the meat you bring home is from a cervid and not a cervix.
 

EdP

WKR
Joined
Jun 18, 2020
Messages
1,208
Location
Southwest Va
The "rule" seems pointless given that you can make multiple trips back and forth across the border until all your meat has been moved into the US.
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2015
Messages
388
Location
Wisconsin
I did more research last night and looks like this topic has been brought up several times in past year on other forums. I'm not going to sweat it

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk
 

Boston1

FNG
Joined
Feb 23, 2023
Messages
21
Location
Wyoming
I'm sure the 50lb rule mentioned throughout this thread (is from USDA) was intended for purchase of commercial meat at a store or butcher shop and not intended for hunted/harvested wildlife trophies. Since moose are cervids then you need to be sure and not return with any brain matter or spinal column. Thats not a federal rule (yet) but has been adopted by many states to curtail CWD. Upon re-entry you'll have to declare the harvested wildlife to US Customs and they'll complete a wildlife declaration. It's no big deal it just takes a little time.
 

Brooks051

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 17, 2021
Messages
133
Box it up and air freight it home. We have done it out of Fairbanks and its a cheap way of getting lots of meat home. You'll just have to pick it up from your local airport pretty quickly after it arrives.
 

dirtshooter

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 1, 2022
Messages
174
Location
AB
A friend of mine killed a moose in Canada and the guide wouldn't fly out his meat.....even though they had a t otter. The guide told him "that's how we feed our bears".

Hopefully you don't have the same outfit as the meat portion was just the tip of the iceberg for the letdowns he had.

Which outfitter was this??
 
OP
GeorgeShaw
Joined
Mar 25, 2024
Messages
21
Location
Troy, Ohio
Box it up and air freight it home. We have done it out of Fairbanks and its a cheap way of getting lots of meat home. You'll just have to pick it up from your local airport pretty quickly after it arrives.
That would be hard for me to do. I drive semi and have to go back to work as soon as my vacation is over.
 

2ski

WKR
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Messages
1,755
Location
Bozeman
I would be sure the meat you bring home is from a cervid and not a cervix.
Make sure you leave any cervix you find. Leave them in Canada. You don't want to eat that. They taste like poutine. However do give them a good pounding while you're there. Pound them like you would a flank steak. It'll leave it more tender for the next guy to eat.
 

t_carlson

WKR
Joined
Nov 1, 2022
Messages
570
Location
Montana
If you're looking for ANY kind of logic within .gov's rules you will not find it.

I had to sleep overnight in my car at the border last fall while waiting for a USDA inspector to come on shift.

Said inspector had to make sure the snow geese I was in possession of didn't bring any bird flu into the United States.

It seems the feds are too stupid to understand the concept of migratory birds.

This is how they treat tax paying Americans. If you're illegal, they just wave you through and give you a cell phone and pre-paid debit card when you get in.
 

buffybr

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 3, 2024
Messages
107
Location
Bozangles, MT
I hunted moose in northern Alberta last year. I drove from my home in Montana through the Sweetgrass Border crossing both into and out of Canada. Comming home I filled two 120 quart coolers with boned moose meat and also brought the antlers and skull cap home.

Coming home I only had to fill out Form at US Customs stating the species and estimated quantity of the meat. Customs did not inspect my coolers or look at the antlers/skull cap.
 

Kyle Avey

WKR
Joined
Jan 22, 2020
Messages
667
Me and my friend killed 2 bulls in BC last September. We brought both bulls back debones except for rib bones. CA and US customs were cool about the rib bones.
 
Top