If you have un-mounted ruminant trophies about to be shipped to you in the US from a country that is classified as having Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or Mad Cow disease), it's urgent that you notify your outfitter or shipping agent to stop that shipment. Ruminants are even-toed, hoofed animals such as sheep, goats, caribou and deer. Many European countries and Canada, among other nations, are classified as having BSE.

The problem is, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture has abruptly released a directive that no ruminant trophies from BSE countries will be allowed into the US unless they have been completely processed - that is, tanned or ready to be hung on the wall. The Hunting Report learned about this problem this afternoon when a subscriber called and complained that APHIS was returning to Spain five dipped and packed trophies he took in that country - two ibex, two chamois and a roe deer.

We immediately checked into the situation and determined that APHIS indeed has the authority - in fact, is mandated - to return the trophies to Spain. At this writing the same would be true of a Pere David's deer shipped from England and a caribou shipped from Canada. At the end of this article, I have attached a hyperlink that will take you to a web site that list BSE countries worldwide.

Fortunately, most of the major African hunting countries are not BSE countries. Ditto Australia and New Zealand. The crux of the problem is in Europe and, of course, Canada, where tens of thousands of Americans take caribou and other ruminants each year. Under current directives, none of those animals will be allowed into the US unless they have been fully processed. The number of animals involved is so great it is sure to have a devastating impact on the American taxidermy industry.

Here at The Hunting Report, I am continuing to look into this problem, and I will file an update shortly. In the meantime, do not wait around. If you have unprocessed ruminant trophies headed toward the US from a BSE country, do all you can to stop their shipment. - Don Causey, President/Publisher The Hunting Report.


http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/manuals/port/pdf_files/AP...oreign_Countries.pdf

The US National Taxidermy Association is trying to get a reading on this...

However, if the ruling sticks, all is not lost for US taxidermist. Hunters will just have to get tanning done in Canada or europe. So, outfitters should have taxidermy, tanning contact. It will be a question to ask.

I will be able to tan a few deer capes and send them on to my US friends. I mean a few because I do taxidermy part time and what to keep it that way... Also, in my neck of the woods most US hunters are here for bear, not cervides... I don't expect a line up come september...

The only thing I'd have to learn I guess is the proper methods of shipping wet and dry tanned capes to the 50 odd jurisdictions in the US with many different rules and regulations...

***Also, I'm hearing that this applies to african trophies also, they must be treated in the same way, expect the reason is Swine flu, not BSE.

False Alarm regarding Canadian trophies...

From The Hunting Report's email extra website, as posted 3/23:

Canada is classified as a BSE minimal risk region and is not, under the revised regulations, subject to the above mentioned ban.

This means we can still bring unmounted trophies into the States. I have seen nothing about meat, and I am assuming that nothing has changed and there are no restrictions.

The regs have also been relaxed for other countries with BSE (such as Europe), allowing up to two raw trophies per shipment.

I hope it is true. We don't need any more laws that will aid to restrict hunting.