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eric_sthjrsy

Going through customs/airport with feathers?? (Stump the chump)

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Looking for some solid advice/ information about traveling through customs with fur or feathers.

 

I am stationed in Germany and have to travel to Arizona next month for a school. I would like to bring my fly tying stuff so I have something to do on my downtime. I am wondering if I would even be allowed to bring a pheasant tail, rabbit mask, marabou, some dubbing..... things like that. I contacted the customs office where I am stationed but they had very limited information..... basically pointed me to a website. I am in the

process trying to call an additional POC but figured this would be a great question to pose to members on this website.

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I would try to make use of US prices on materials and buy stuff from there, then either post it to myself when I left or make sure you used it all. Don't think they will take flies from you but do get funny on x living creatures.

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its not something i would attempt

 

i would put tying tools in checked baggage but i'd leave fur and feather in germany

 

you would be trying to bring in fur and feathers from another country that might sit in quarantine in the usa longer than your stay here

 

i know you are not allowed to bring tying materials into new zealand etc

 

 

piker

 

i think if he posted his materials to himself its still going to go through customs/quarantine one way or the other and who knows how long its going to be there

 

eric,

 

heres a question

 

are you flying on a commercial flight or military transport and what are the rules/procedures when you do? do you need to check into custom?

 

you might want to contact hans weillenmann with a pm and ask him what he does when bringing in materials from the netherlands

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Good idea about checking with someone like Hans. If he posts himself the materials it should be fine. He'll label a custom form as tying materials or fly fishing material and it should make it fine. It tends to be the declared value that interests customs officials so they can add local value added and custom taxes. I know for UK so long as the item is under $20 or so they never get stopped. Over $30 and guarentee it is stopped and charges added.

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I have travelled with materials for shows, etc. -but just inside the country (and all of it pre 9/11). I do have a few contacts that import fly materials in bulk and have heard my share of horror stories regarding customs, etc. Here's the course I'd follow. First I'd write down your gear onto a list and have a copy of that list right there with your tools and materials.

 

Literally, I used to list vise, scissors, razor blades, light, rotisserie, etc. along with a separate listing of fly materials (most fly tying vises have a very similar profile to weapon items when bags are x-rayed if they're screened. Having an inventory list with your gear should go a long way to allow screeners to calm down if they open and inspect your luggage. I believe that as long as any materials are still in the bags/containers that they were originally purchased in that are clearly labeled as fly tying materials and correctly described you're not likely to run into any difficulties - with a few caveats....

 

Those concerns involve any materials that might have come from any species listed on the ESA and also items like fur from any species of bear, etc. I'm pretty sure that concerns about fly materials come in two categories. The first involves any fur, hair, or feathers in the raw that have not been processed since disease is a real concern (particularly after the emergence of SARS and other poultry based diseases where many, many of our materials come from -China, India, etc.). The slightest hint of materials still in the "raw" will get them impounded and then they will be destroyed. Items that come from bears, tigers, species listed as threatened, etc. are also difficult to move -even if they're actually legal here (black bear is at the head of my list...). Since these things are heavily trafficked illegally for oriental "medicines" they're under close scrutiny whenever they cross borders...

 

I'm guessing (just my opinion) is that properly processed and packaged materials won't draw any problems... but that's just my opinion - I'd love to hear from anyone with direct experience in this area.

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How about shipping your stuff to the location that you will be at in the states. Feathers are light ;-) so it shouldn't be to expensive. Make the delivery so that it shows up the day or day after you arrive.

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All processed leather, fur and feather products will go through in checked luggage without incident. As has been stated above, if it's in the original packaging, it is fine. If it's obviously processed (dyed, tanned etc.) it's fine. The worst thing you could do would be to pack large amounts. This would be reason to suspect it is from a protected species.

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Good info so far guys.... I am still going to pursue data directly off the customs website/ hotline... however I think 20 Euro's worth of materials packed in its

original packaging, listed out on paper as someone already suggested, might be fine. I am pretty new to tying so I wouldn't need many materials to keep me occupied

for two months. Thanks so far for the advice....... hopefully someone who has actually gone through customs can post. As far as mailing to myself this would not

work because I don't have a mailing address for where I am going, plus I don't know anyone's address close that I could use.

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Mailing to yourself would probably cost as much as just buying it when you get there, especially if you are just using basic materials.

 

As someone said earlier, shoot Hans a PM on the site.

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Eric that is some serious beautiful country you are going to--- I ASSume you are going there TDY for training? I spent a couple of days poking around Garden Canyon on Ft. Huachuca a while ago. I was stationed in New Mexico at the time. If you are into natural history at all, there are things in the Huachucas which are incredible- part of the "Sky Islands" or Basin-and-Range ecosystems of SE Arizona. Enjoy it as much as you can.

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If you are worried about transporting the items in you baggage then ship it to yourself if you can. All of my fly tying stuff has been delivered by the USPS/MPS without problems. I just shipped all of my stuff 5 days ago to myself from my previous location to my new location in Germany. The post office did not even look at it funny and I spoke with the customs guy prior to shipping it and he said it would not be a problem. But unfortunately with the USPS, MPS and Customs the rules are up to the interpretation of the person processing the items so there is never a guarantee.

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