My hunt next June to hunt in the Eastern Cape will be my first trip overseas in a long time and I'm getting a little OCD about the details.

The US Customs Declaration Form 6059B has a couple of questions that I need advice on how to answer.

First, Question 11-d asks if I have soil or have been on a farm/ranch/pasture. Obviously, the answer is NO to soil but the rest is not so simple. Would being on property which is high-fenced for plains game count as a farm?

Second, Question 12 asks if I had touched or handled livestock. I am assuming I will have success on this trip and will pose for pictures with animal I shot. Would you consider game animals such as a Nyala or bushbuck as livestock?

I fully understand the caution about bringing in invasive seeds or a terrible disease like hoof and mouth disease. I do plan to carefully clean my boots before ending my trip and I doubt I would be wearing any dirty hunting clothes on the flight home.

I have asked this question on another forum. One answer said Customs wasn't asking for this anymore. The rest devolved into the problems with invasive species and diseases. If I do have to fill out the form, I just want guidance on how to fill out the damn form without lying to Customs!

Thanks

Simplest thing on the first question is just check “yes”, all they are going to do is spray your boots/shoes with disinfectant. I think CBP still sprays every returning hunters boots. At DFW, some times they do, other times they don’t. Not a big deal.
Not sure if they consider game as livestock but I’ve always checked “no”.

Thanks for the advice, Karl. I appreciate it.

I didn't realize that they sprayed the boots of anyone that had been hunting. A friend said when he went to pick up his guns in Atlanta, they sprayed his boots. I guess if you are picking up rifles they know you've been hunting.

coming back last year thru Newark they did not spray my boots but this year coming back thru Atlanta they did spray them? why pick on hunters and not tourists don't they walk on dirt also?

If you use camp rifles you will never get sprayed. Painless going and coming.

Don

quote:

Originally posted by DonW28:
If you use camp rifles you will never get sprayed. Painless going and coming.

Don

True.

But not half as much enjoyment!

quote:

Originally posted by hydehunter:
coming back last year thru Newark they did not spray my boots but this year coming back thru Atlanta they did spray them? why pick on hunters and not tourists don't they walk on dirt also?

More hog farms in Georgia than northern New Jersey? And yes, tourists who go on photo safaris ought to have their boots sprayed as well.

As Don noted above, if you use camp rifles they don't know if you went hunting or not. I do agree with Saeed that it is not as fun that way.