Canada waterfowl hunters - importation ban

[Sasquatchewan]

This is silly and will only contribute to wasting more waterfowl. Thousands of dead birds are found in massive piles around the Prairies. Too many guys only want their pictures taken with a pile of dead birds and are too lazy to deal with the meat.

Leave it to a gov't agency to think that import restrictions on a migratory species, which crosses international boundaries TWICE per year, will help with this...

 

[Sasquatchewan]

Filled out all of my ArriveCAN info this week. We are jumping on the bird tomorrow and heading to SK. Looking forward to seeing our friends up there as we haven’t been up that way since the fall of 19. The guy we go with processes all of the birds into sausage/jerky/etc. Plus his wife makes some darn good duck poppers, so we eat a bunch while there.

Don't forget to spend your hard earned monies in those small towns you pass by!!!

 

[MNElkNut]

This is TOTAL hearsay, but I saw on Facebook (which is always 100% accurate, no?) that there is a way to process them up there and bring the finished product back. I say this not to say you can do it, but to say that with a lot of research there just might be a way. Again, DON'T take this for permission to do it!

 

[brocksw]

Birds Aren't Real | Birds Aren't Real

They used to be. Until the U.S. Government replaced them with drone replicas designed to spy on the American public. Founded in 1976.

birdsarentreal.com

@Gila will back me up on this one.

 

[Hunting Wife]

I believe meat and meat products are going to be a no-go. The USDA release specified finished taxidermy only as acceptable.

 

[Gellar]

This is silly and will only contribute to wasting more waterfowl. Thousands of dead birds are found in massive piles around the Prairies. Too many guys only want their pictures taken with a pile of dead birds and are too lazy to deal with the meat.

Leave it to a gov't agency to think that import restrictions on a migratory species, which crosses international boundaries TWICE per year, will help with this...

You don’t pile up the birds in the shape of the number you shot to post on the gram?

 

[Sasquatchewan]

You don’t pile up the birds in the shape of the number you shot to post on the gram?

Ultimate hunter douche move!!!

 

[thomas89]

It's not just up there. Guys around here with numbers of geese at the end of the season over 100 just blows me away. How can they eat/give away that many? A few years ago I had this obsession to hit 100 ducks. I got to 103. It was so tough to stay under our possession limit (combined with my wife) and we couldn't eat them hardly fast enough

Agreed, I am flat out sick of them after a while.

 

[F250]

Some years back we were getting ready to leave Saskatchewan and head home. The freezer was packed with possession limits packaged with the required wing on. The night before we left, the US closed the border to importing wild game birds due to the Avian Flu. It was ridiculous move then, and a ridiculous move this year. We spent a day handing out birds to friends and church groups (assisting immigrant families).

 

[F250]

Regarding the issue of tying up fields : We have been free lance hunting in Sask. for a few decades. A farm family kind of adopted me, and finished off their basement for us to stay. One year an outfitter moved into the area. He had three scout cars out every day tying up every field with a goose or duck on it. With no other options we started hunting the water holes and ponds (some are DU projects). One afternoon I was standing beside my truck, glassing a pond where I had permission to hunt. The outfitter pulled up behind me, jumped out and started screaming at me about hunting the roosts and ruining the hunting. I tried to explain, politely, that he was being an A-hole tying up all the fields. When he stepped too close, I was "forced to defend my personal space". The confrontation ended.

 

[RobertD]

I see the criticism of this new regulation but I'm more interested in this thread as a criticism of guys who go north to Canada and shoot too many ducks. I think some of that early season prairie duck hunting is getting excessive

 

[F250]

The guys don't have to take limits every day they are there. Do you really need to shoot 8 ducks and 8 Canadas every day you hunt ??? We self-impose lower daily limits just to stretch out the hunt.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Agreed, I am flat out sick of them after a while.

Here the possession limit on both black (Canada) and snow geese is unlimited. Last year the first two weeks of season the daily limit here was double (from 5 to 10) to help thin the booming population of local geese fouling the beaches, golf courses, etc. I suspect the daily limit may be the same again this year. However, I have noticed SIGNIFICANTLY less geese around town this past summer. Perhaps bird flu has helped get a handle on them.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Some years back we were getting ready to leave Saskatchewan and head home. The freezer was packed with possession limits packaged with the required wing on. The night before we left, the US closed the border to importing wild game birds due to the Avian Flu. It was ridiculous move then, and a ridiculous move this year. We spent a day handing out birds to friends and church groups (assisting immigrant families).

That wasn't too long ago. Both borders closed it down. I was shooting pheasants in Montana but fortunately able to wait it out. By mid November Canada had relaxed the restriction except for birds shot in a few states. I seem to recall ND and MN were on the list. When returning I crossed in MN but it was no problem getting my birds over when I showed them my Montana license.

 

[rwc101]

Feds Reverse Import Ban on Waterfowl Taken by American Hunters in Canada

American hunters traveling to Canada will be able to bring their ducks back home—as long as they meet this criteria.

www.fieldandstream.com

 

[OntarioHunter]

Not much new in the "special restrictions." Essentially everyone coming to hunt waterfowl in Canada simply takes back only the breast with one wing attached and frozen. As long as I've been crossing the border neither side has allowed meat processed into jerky or sausage across (though the American side looked the other way at least once). My brother threw a bunch of my deer sausage in with a cape I had him ship up from Montana last winter and Canada customs had to throw it out. They worked hard to find a way around it by calling the processor to see if they could certify the beef fat was inspected. Apparently they could not. The customs guy was very apologetic. If I'd known Mike was going to put the sausage in the box, I would have stopped him. Oh well. Lesson learned.

Edit: The cape came through fine because it was tanned. Bringing a "dip & pack" cape into Canada is an absolute nightmare! A bit less so shipping to US as I understand it.