A Coyote's Tale

The Coyote fur sporran I bought from Kilted Carver in April finally arrived safely, only a few months late, after being detained at the Canadian border because it was identified as Wolf fur. Wolves (Canis lupus) are a protected species, listed in CITES.

The regulations gave me 6 months in which to apply for 're-identification'.

So I took my time and composed an affidavit, gathering information and pictures from both Kilted Carver and the original sporran maker, Brice Lythgoe (UT Kilts), who gave me the creation and purchase history, as well as the name of the original supplier of the Coyote pelt.

All of that documentation paid off, and the Enforcement Officer re-identified the fur as Coyote (Canis latrans) last week and mailed the sporran on to me. It arrived today. Whew!

I told the Enforcement Officer that I would pass on to XMTS the information on shipping 'wildlife products' from the USA to Canada (most countries that are signatory to CITES will require similar steps.)

Shipping wildlife products out of the US requires Export documentation from the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
See "Importing and Exporting Your Commercial Wildlife Shipment".

Environment Canada's Wildlife Enforcement Division expects to see this documentation when the package passes through Customs.

If the article is from a species on the CITES lists it will be confiscated permanently unless you have a very specific permit. If the article is from domesticated non-CITES species there should at the very least be some identifying paperwork included so confusion does not occur.

Be aware of these possible complications when shopping across borders.