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Veterinary Services January 2024

The Approved Establishment Program: Guidance for Hunters

There are certain serious animal diseases that could enter the U.S. 

through imported animal trophies, their hides or their feathers – but 

with proper processing, the disease agents are destroyed. 

The Role of Approved Establishments 

To ensure that trophies are safely imported, APHIS developed the 

Approved Establishment program. The Approved Establishment 

program ensures these materials are appropriately handled and 

treated to prevent the introduction of foreign animal diseases.

What is an Approved Establishment? 

Approved Establishments are taxidermy facilities that handle the 

specific types of processing needed to kill any potential foreign 

animal disease viruses. Approved Establishments are inspected and 

approved annually by USDA. There are also Approved Warehouses 

that can store these types of trophies and materials prior to 

processing. When leaving the Approved Warehouse, the trophies 

must go directly to an Approved Establishment for processing. 

The Approved Establishment will use proper processing techniques, 

which are specific to the animal materials and the diseases of 

concern, to inactivate or remove any potential disease causing 

agents. After the processing is complete, they will release the 

materials back to the hunter or importer. 

Do I Need to Use An Approved Establishment? 

If you are bringing back unfinished trophies, bones, antlers in velvet, 

teeth, horns, hooves, hides, or bird carcasses, you may need an

Approved Establishment. More details are in the bar to the right. 

When in doubt, contact APHIS to check if you need to use an 

Approved Establishment. 

What do I Need to Do to Bring My Items Back to the U.S.?

The Approved Establishment program requires cooperation between

importers (hunters, brokers), the approved establishments, U.S.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and USDA. 

To import an animal trophy or materials through this program, here 

are the steps to follow: 

WHAT NEEDS TO GO TO AN 

APPROVED ESTABLISHMENT? 

Unfinished animal trophies, hides 

and feathers that come from areas of 

the world with the following foreign

animal diseases must undergo 

special processing to protect against 

introducing those diseases into the

U.S.:

 highly pathogenic avian

influenza (for bird/poultry

items)

 virulent Newcastle disease (for

bird/poultry items)

 foot-and-mouth disease (for

split-hooved animal items)

 African swine fever (for swine

items)

The following items may enter 

without a permit or foreign

certificate and do not need to go to 

an approved establishment:

 finished/mounted trophies

 cleaned and dried bones, antlers,

horns and hooves being used as 

trophies

 flint dried hides from countries

without African swine fever

 trophy/display materials from

rabbits, rodents, fish, shellfish

and non-human primates

These items may still fall under U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service or Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention 

import restrictions.

1. Know what country the animal is from and check to see if it will required an Approved

Establishment before heading overseas. This information is available on the Approved

Establishments page. If you have questions, contact the APHIS animal product import

team at APIE@usda.gov.
a. If it requires processing at an Approved Establishment, find one that handles the species

you are seeking to import. USDA maintains a database of approved establishments,

which is sortable by state and item type:

https://vsapps.aphis.usda.gov/vsps/public/AESearch.do?method=unspecified

b. You may also need permits and documents from the U.S. before you leave.

2. Once you are overseas, package your trophy securely in leak-proof containers or crates. If you

have trophies from multiple species, be sure to package each species individually. Work with

the shipping company (express mail, air cargo, etc.) to correctly identify the shipment and parties

involved. The Approved Establishment will be listed as the consignee. Be certain to include any

required documents/paperwork.

3. Contact CBP at the port of arrival to make arrangements for your shipment to be inspected upon

arrival.

4. Customs officers will review the shipping documents, inspect the shipment and ensure the

chosen Approved Establishment is authorized to handle the materials. CBP will authorize

movement to the Approved Establishment by issuing a form VS-16-78 to accompany the

shipment.

a. The shipment should be delivered to the Approved Establishment within 10 days of CBP

issuing the authorization form.

b. USDA will be notified if the shipment does not arrive at the Approved Establishment.

5. The Approved Establishment receives the shipment. They will complete the required processing,

which may be different than what is normally done for US-origin trophies.

6. The trophy/materials are released back to the hunter or importer.

What Does the Approved Establishment Program Cost? 

USDA does not charge hunters or importers for the Approved Establishment program. However, the 

Approved Establishment will charge for their services. There may also be costs involved if the hunter or 

importer chooses to use a broker or logistics provider to ease the process. 

Are There Any Other Rules? 

There may also be separate import restrictions from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and/or the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Please check with those agencies before importing any 

trophies or materials. 

For More Information 

Use our online self-guided tool to understand USDA Veterinary Services import requirements for animal 

products: VS Permitting Assistant

For questions about the Approved Establishment Program, contact: 

USDA APHIS Animal Import Staff 

301-851-3300

APIE@usda.gov

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animalhealth/approvedestablishments

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