Bringing Bear meat back to USA

[jimbo1972]

I am hunting Saskatchewan for black bear in May. I am flying and have questions on the best way to get the meat back.
My initial thought is to ship my luggage back after the hunt and check the meat as luggage. Any recommendations?

 

[DPHunter4570]

I've driven from Manitoba to the US many times bear hunting, obviously different than flying. Meat and hide are in a cooler, sometimes they "inspect" you sometimes they don't. You are supposed to stop and fill out a USDA form at the border. It's not a big deal at all driving.

Flying i have only done state to state with bear meat. I had the meat prepared in Maine so it was all prepped and sealed. I bought a cooler in Bangor on the way to the airport and just checked it as a bag. Meat was frozen when I got home. It definitely makes you have a ton of crap getting into the airport with luggage, gun/bow, now a cooler.

I would say that is how I would do it if I flew to Canada. I'm headed back this year but I'll drive. I would just buy a good cooler in town and check it as luggage. Hopefully, the camp has a freezer that your trophies can get a good freeze before you leave, I'm sure they do.

 

[Rem280]

Our guide in Saskatchewan froze the meat and gave us a big plastic tote. Checked it in and flew home with me on the plane. It was fine. Just have all paperwork in order and hopefully avoid flying thru Toronto.

 

[JimP]

Best thing that I can tell you is to talk to your outfitter, this isn't their first time having a US hunter that wants to take the meat home. And I am sure that they'll have local contacts to prep and freeze the meat along with containers that you can purchase.

 

[WyoBull]

When I hunted black bear in Northern Saskatchewan they told us we could not eat any of the bear or bring any meat home because they are full of worms. When they skinned them out, you could see the worms in the meat.

 

[pilar]

When I hunted black bear in Northern Saskatchewan they told us we could not eat any of the bear or bring any meat home because they are full of worms. When they skinned them out, you could see the worms in the meat.

I brought a bear back , cut up and frozen in a box by a local butcher
I probably never would bother with it again because yes they are very wormy and imo not very good table fair ( to each their own)
Very greasy and funky taste and smell, but I have brought back about 100lbs of fish and game meat per trip in a open container then inspected and taped shut to avoid any issues with the airline and fee’s

 

[Rem280]

When I hunted black bear in Northern Saskatchewan they told us we could not eat any of the bear or bring any meat home because they are full of worms. When they skinned them out, you could see the worms in the meat.

Worms add flavor. Bear meat is amazing. Cook well done

 

[Tanks]

I thought one could not bring meat through the US customs.

 

[pilar]

I thought one could not bring meat through the US customs.

Three of us just returned from Mexico with 100lbs of tuna and Dorado steaks a piece
Locally packed and flash frozen in a TSA approved container! But your mileage may vary depending on country of origin

 

[WyoBull]

Worms add flavor. Bear meat is amazing. Cook well done

I have had bear meat here in Wyoming years ago and yes it was good from what I remember and definitely greasy. Not sure if they are all wormy but from what I saw up in Northern Saskatchewan, not a chance I was going to eat it.

 

[Woodcarver]

The bear I brought back from Alberta a few years ago was some of the most tender, tasty game meat I've eaten (and no worms, lol). It does need to be cooked like pork, no rare or medium rare, as it is susceptible to trichinosis. As the guy from MT wildlife wasn't at the border crossing, and the Border Patrol guy had no clue, he and I fumbled through the paperwork in about 10 minutes and he sent me on my way without looking at anything in the coolers.
I did not notice the meat being greasy at all. But I remove all fat and tallow from everything I butcher. Also brought home 2, 5 gal buckets of fat that rendered down to about a 6 qts of grease; great for cooking or leather. Need to go back and shoot a couple more as we finished the last of the steaks a while ago.

 

[Ridge Runner]

When I hunted black bear in Northern Saskatchewan they told us we could not eat any of the bear or bring any meat home because they are full of worms. When they skinned them out, you could see the worms in the meat.

What time of year did you hunt?
Who was your outfitter?

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I thought one could not bring meat through the US customs.

I have brought back elk and moose meat from BC via Vancouver airport with no problem.

 

[Jeff505]

Spring bears usually have very little fat, fall bears are the exact opposite. All bears will have the parasite (round worms) that causes trichinosis. This parasite can be killed by freezing meat for three weeks as long as temperature is 5 F or less. I have cooked the meat multiple ways and made sausage with it, alway turn out good. Wild boar can also carry this parasite and freezing works with that meat also.

 

[rookhawk]

I am hunting Saskatchewan for black bear in May. I am flying and have questions on the best way to get the meat back.
My initial thought is to ship my luggage back after the hunt and check the meat as luggage. Any recommendations?

Yup. Pack the raw meat in garbage bags and fill the suitcase. Keep the suitcase in the cold room to freeze it, fly back with it.

We did this with Canada Bear and Texas Stag over the years.

Keep in mind, the most precious part of the bear is the fat. You render it as tallow and you'll literally never look at butter and olive oil in the same light. We live off clarified bear fat on our fancier meal's side dishes. (best potatoes ever!).

A 300lb bear will debone and fill two carry-on sized suit cases.

 

[Buckums]

i did the same from BC with a black bear.. freeze meat and checked bags along with salted hide and cleaned skull. no problems. this was in 2014.

 

[Sabre]

Instead of shipping your luggage back, it might be cheaper to just pay the extra baggage fee as additional luggage for the cooler. Unless they won't let you because of a number of bags limit.

The absolute best thing you can do if you are going to transport it like this is to get the meat frozen solid before leaving. Meat frozen solid in a cooler will stay frozen for a pretty long time in transport. Each bag of meat acts as an ice pack. Obviously there are limits to how long this works, but it works well.

 

[gillettehunter]

Last Aug killed a bear in Ontario. Froze the meat and came across the border without any issues. Bear was very fat and has been good eating. We drove and those in camp indicated customs usually didn't bother inspecting their bears.....
Bruce

 

[Boyd Brooks]

I have hunted bear all over central Ontario, and never had any parasites in the meat. That said, there are no landfills within 30 miles of where I hunt. Garbage in equals garbage out. I personally think bear is the best tasting wild meat I have had in North America, so far. Live weight to de-boned is about 1/4 to 1/3.
Good luck on your hunt, if you decide not to bring the meat back, and haven’t eaten it yet, try it once before you leave. I’m sure you will be buying a cooler, and changing your mind about the meat!

 

[Sabre]

Last Aug killed a bear in Ontario. Froze the meat and came across the border without any issues. Bear was very fat and has been good eating. We drove and those in camp indicated customs usually didn't bother inspecting their bears.....
Bruce

When driving back from Saskatchewan they seemed a bit less interested in inspecting when all my paperwork was in order.

Ontario has been very interested in inspecting when I went through. Not to an absurd amount. But enough that after seeing the hide, they have said they wanted to see the skull and claws, despite the skull and claws still being attached to the hide.

Either way, I have never had a terrible experience at the border, mostly just annoyances and people not knowing their job very well.