Bringing game meat from Alberta

[Island Redneck]

Does anyone know the regulations for taking game meat from Alberta to BC. for 2012 season.

I was told the regs. changed for 2012, and this year you have to have the carcass processed in Alberta before bringing it into BC..

I dont know if this is correct or not, I have talked to 2 people in the MOE. but they didnt know and some one from the Ministry was supposed to call me with the info., that was 3 weeks ago and I havent heard back yet.

If anyone can help me with info., I would appreciate it, I dont want to go through the BS. proccess with the MOE. again if I can help it.

Thanks;

[butcher]

Pretty much, yes. Also need to remove the brain and skin from your antlers and boil the skull.

[digger dogger]

Pretty much, yes. Also need to remove the brain and skin from your antlers and boil the skull.
Does this include getting the cape processed in a.b aswell?

[Blacktail]

Last I heard (couple years ago). "legally" the game has to be processed by a game cutter before it hits the BC border
Antlers and skull plates have to be clean of any tissue and dry

[IronNoggin]

Actually the meat does not have to be "processed" as in completely cut and wrapped. The Ladz and I often bring back critters from Alberta, so have to stay on top of this matter...

Things that can NOT come into BC:
- No intact skulls - brains MUST be completely removed.
- No spinal columns - spine MUST be completely removed.
- No internal organs.
- No hooves.

The rest all can come into BC. Hides must be scraped clean.

Reason for this is the fear of introducing CWD into BC. Currently BC is listed as CWD free. While it is a tad onerous compared to the practices of the past, Much Better Safe Than Sorry, we certainly do NOT want CWD here!

NEW REGULATION

On the advice of wildlife health experts, the BC Wildlife Federation and others, the BC Ministry of Environment recently passed new regulations that prohibit possession of the head, hoof, hide, spinal column, internal organ including testicles or mammary gland of any deer, elk and moose (cervids) killed outside of British Columbia. Possession of an out-of-province cervid hide, antler, or part of a skull is permitted, providing they have been treated in a way that removes all tissues – this means no large chunks of meat or brain are attached.

The purpose of prohibiting possession of these parts is to reduce the risk of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) being introduced into BC. We believe there is a low risk for natural introduction of the disease into BC from live infected animals, but research shows a very real threat exists through human transport of infected animals. If infected animal parts are disposed of on the ground, the CWD prion material can bind to the soil and will stay infective virtually forever. This is believed to be the most significant way to
transmit the disease long distances and could result in CWD becoming established in BC.

What should you do if you harvest a cervid outside of BC?

Meat: It is recommended that meat be de-boned or processed prior to removal from the jurisdiction where it was killed. Only transport those parts of the animal that you intend to consume or are legally required to retain for transport or possession purposes.

Antlers and Trophy Animals: If you want to keep antlers, remove them, any soft tissue and the connecting bone plate from the remainder of the skull and soak in 2% bleach. If you want to keep the hide, all tissue must be removed before being possessed in BC.

Contact your taxidermist before your hunting trip and discuss with them what kind of mount you want and the parts required for your mount. Compliance with BC CWD regulations and ensuring that everything you need to provide to your taxidermist to have the mount you want is easily achieved.

DO NOT dump carcasses. Leave all prohibited parts at the kill site.

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/wldhealth/CWD_program_update_spring2012.pdf

Good Luck over in Alberta!!

Cheers,
Nog

[Walking Buffalo]

While it's great to hear BC is paying attention to possible importation sources of CWD, I'm left wondering about a few things.

Why does the cape/hide have to be scraped clean? The possibility of CWD infected meat on hides is no greater than in the "processed" meat.

Why does BC allow baiting for cervids? Creating hotspots for ungulate contact is well known to increase the potential of disease transmission. If CWD or other serious transmittable diseases such as EHD become established in BC, there will be a difficult process ahead to change the laws and "Traditions" regarding baiting.
It would be much wiser for BC wildlife managers to eliminate cervid baiting sooner rather than later.

[Island Redneck]

Hey guy's thanks for the information.

A Bio. from the MOE. phoned me back and said if the animal is quartered and the spinal cord and other prohibited parts removed and left in Alberta, it can be tranported to BC. and be processed here. Do to the different antler restrictions in different area's, the skull cap and antlers should be treated and transported with the carcass.


Again, thanks for the info;
Wayne