Cues through US customs
- Thread starter Gmanpoke
- Start date
Gmanpoke said:
I don't think that custom agents will know much about what is or is not ivory in a cue. Most of the time I have traveled outside US, we bubble wrap the cue case and have to send it with the other luggage. We don't take the bubble wrap off until we get out of the airport.
You shouldn't have any problems if it is your playing cue; however, they will ask questions if the cue is brand new or seems like new. Not because of the ivory but because they may think you are importing goods to the country without paying the appropriate taxes or taiff.
ivory
If a cue has ivory in it, it is illegal to take it to any CITES country and illegal to bring it back into the US after it has been outside the US even if it has preban ivory in it. This is rarely an issue but it could be. Traveler's baggage is inspected much more often now and if the ivory is noticed it could become an issue. I seem to remember a cue impounded for a year because it had fake ivory in it.
I'd say the risks are fairly low but they are real. If I was really attached to a cue with ivory in it I would leave it at home.
Hu
If a cue has ivory in it, it is illegal to take it to any CITES country and illegal to bring it back into the US after it has been outside the US even if it has preban ivory in it. This is rarely an issue but it could be. Traveler's baggage is inspected much more often now and if the ivory is noticed it could become an issue. I seem to remember a cue impounded for a year because it had fake ivory in it.
I'd say the risks are fairly low but they are real. If I was really attached to a cue with ivory in it I would leave it at home.
Hu
173 countries
There are 173 countries that are parties to the CITES agreement. This is an effort to restrict trade in all endangered species and swings a pretty wide loop in some areas. The website has a listing of the parties and gives more information concerning what CITES covers.
Hu
http://www.cites.org/
jrt30004 said:
There are 173 countries that are parties to the CITES agreement. This is an effort to restrict trade in all endangered species and swings a pretty wide loop in some areas. The website has a listing of the parties and gives more information concerning what CITES covers.
Hu
http://www.cites.org/
Gmanpoke said:
Besides the ivory issue, I think that it is also depending on where the cue ships from.
A friend of mine sent a custom cue back to the maker for repair and the cue was completely trashed by US customs... in another case he sent back a custom made case and that was trashed as well, I guess they were looking for either drugs or explosives.... in both cases, the items were sent via DHL. In both cases the items were beyond repair!!!
I know that I will never ship a cue to the USA and only hand carry it.
I have a friend who lives in Canada and he owns some very nice cues. He told me a horror story about one of his cues being shipped to him. I guess it depends on which company is shipping the cue and who the customs agent is that's checking the cue and how thorough they are, but my friends cue had ivory ferrules on both shafts and the ferrules had to be removed from his shafts!skor said:
This won't happen every time, but if the right person does the inspection and they suspect the material is ivory it could be a big problem with a custom cue worth big $$$. I'm afraid of shipping a cue out of the country with ivory inlays or ferrules on the shafts. I know people do it all the time, but it could be a problem under the right circumstances.
James
skor said:
You will of course only be able to 'hand carry' it as far as the check-in desk if you're flying. From that point it's in the hold.
That tactic will certainly reduce the risk of it being trashed or confiscated by Customs but it won't eliminate it completely as Customs might decide they want a close look at it as you go through the something or nothing to declare channels.
Carrying it within checked hold baggage will also expose it to the possibility of trashing by Airport Security Depts at origin, transit points or destination as any checked baggage which arouses suspicion during the various x-ray, scanning and sniffer dog etc procedures in the various baggage operations areas which it passes through will often be dismantled for examination long before it reaches the baggage claim carousel at destination. Not necessarily anything directly to do with Customs rules at that point (although it could be in certain places where the scanning facilities are extremely sophisticated), but nevertheless often with similar unfortunate results as you describe in the example incidents of damage you mentioned.
At the end of the day if someone is importing something which they know it is forbidden to import, whether in their personal luggage or as a shipped package, they aren't going to have a leg to stand on for compensation or insurance nor any good cause for sympathy if it is lost, damaged or confiscated. So however any azb'er intends to accomplish it.....go into it with eyes open as to your lack of rights and with an awareness of the risk are the principle messages.
poolpop63 said:
Shooting Arts has already explained crystal clearly what the rules are about cues containing ivory. You can't legally bring them into USA.....and the authorities are entitled to confiscate them if you try. There is absolutely no speculation or suspense about what the official rules are.
Any remaining speculation or suspense can only therefore be about whether Customs are actually likely to identify the ivory in the cue and if affirmative whether they are likely to then do anything about it in practice. In other words whether they will hit you with the rule book or waive you through. A frequent international travelling pro who regularly brings ivory laden cues into USA can certainly tell you whether he has ever actually been pulled up or queried abut the ivory in his cues, but whatever his personal experience has been so far it will not change what the rules are nor necessarily mean that the way his cues were dealt with by Customs will be the way his or someone else's cues will be dealt with by Customs on the next occasion.
Therefore in respect of clarifying speculation or suspense a travelling pro's personal experiences probably aren't all that significant. He might for example be a pro that has just been very lucky never to have been pulled up in checks that do happen regularly or the exact opposite, he might be a pro that got very unlucky to be pulled up the first time he imported one during a one in 10,000 random check.
Importing cues containing ivory is obviously a risk. You pays yer money and ye takes yer chance. If you are looking for someone to somehow be able to definitively tell you this or that outcome WILL or WON'T happen every time you bring in a cue with ivory in it you are seeking the impossible. Clearly no-one can tell you that, pro or otherwise. They can tell you definitively what the published rules are and Shooting Arts has already done that.
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