Advice? Bringing USA Venison into Canada, then back to USA

[GotDraw?]

All,

I'm in an unusual position, need some guidance RE bringing US venison briefly into Canada and then back into the US.

I am flying to Spokane, WA next week to pick up a vehicle, crossing into Canada at the Oroville, WA/Ossoyus, BC border, then driving to Kelowna, BC for a big-game conference meeting, then driving to Vancouver where I'll pick up my Yukon moose rack, moose jerky and some remaining moose meat from my fall Yukon hunt, then I'm driving to Arizona.

I planned to pull about 20 lbs of venison from my freezer for my brother, put it in a cooler on 5lbs of dry ice (max permissible for planes, I think) and bring it on the plane to WA, to my meeting in Kelowna, then to Vancouver and then by car to my brother's place. It just occurred to me that Canada might cause me problems if I have a cooler of venison when I cross over by car for my meeting and the US might cause me problems when I return across the border. The venison was legally harvested, but in Maryland all I have is the check-in number from when I checked the deer. It's not like we have a huge paper trail for deer harvested here, there are so many that they just want them gone. I also do not plan to leave any of the venison in Canada.

I will have the necessary paperwork for bringing the moose rack, hide and meat into the US- all paperwork has already been prepared by a firm in Vancouver.

If taking the US venison briefly across the border will be a huge time-suck and hassle, I could leave it behind.

Anyone have insight to share?

thanks in advance,

JL

 

[Smash]

Why not just ship it to his house and save yourself from carrying it all over.


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[Hectocotylus]

Not sure what the exact rules are, but I personally would just not make it a big deal. When you cross the border answer their questions, don’t volunteer more than is needed. Doubt they will ask if you are bringing any wild game across the border. They usually ask about fresh fruits and veggies. Leave those in the states and you should be fine. I cross the border every day to go to work, and there are never any questions about food or what’s in a cooler outside of fresh fruits, veggies, or alcohol.


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[GotDraw?]

Totally agreed, this is a bit of a cluster and a bit of a hassle, but there a some key considerations...

I have to grab my moose meat and jerky anyway while in Vancouver getting my mount, so I'll need a cooler for that entire leg of the trip down to AZ. When I fly west to get the vehicle I'm ferrying and the moose I need to pick up, I can bring a cooler of frozen venison on the plane with me as checked bag for next to nothing. Then I can add the venison to the cooler I'll use for the moose meat. There would be a very high cost if I instead decided to ship the moose meat from Vancouver and ship the venison from Maryland so I could avoid dragging the cooler around.

Cost of shipping just the moose meat overnight airfreight from Vancouver to my brother for pick up at Albuquerque/ABQ airport or to me at Washington/Dulles would be extremely expensive (like $400+), combine that with potentially shipping yet another overnight shipment of 20lbs-30lbs of venison from Maryland to AZ (well over $100) and it the math seemed to make this almost-fiasco very worth it. Not to mention, my brother lives and works deep in the Navajo nation and is a 5 hr drive each way from the Albuquerque airport.

So, those are the components driving my drag-the-cooler-around thought process.

JL

Why not just ship it to his house and save yourself from carrying it all over.


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[Agross]

My advice would be to either mail the venison, or try it and see. Don't volunteer info unless they ask. If they ask, be honest. Worst case scenario they take yer venison and your out 20 pounds of venison. Just my opinion. I have crossed numerous times into Ontario, and they are more worried about guns, ammunition, tobacco and alcohol. We have never had them ask about our groceries. Just my personal experience and it was crossing into Ontario from Michigan, not where you are talking, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[Blockcaver]

Have all pertinent licenses with you for any game meat, antlers and cape. If anything is from a chronic wasting area, I’d research that aspect. Good luck.

 

[GotDraw?]

@Agross and @Hectocotylus,
Thanks much for sharing your thoughts, you're both probably right that I could roll in w/o hassle. I will probably call Canadian Customs on Monday for total clarity... figured I'd start here to see if anyone dealt with this previously.

Thanks again!

JL