Is it legal to put horns from animals such as impalas in checked baggage when returning from South Africa to the USA?
Although it's possible, the point of entry has a lot to do with the success. In Atlanta for instance federal F&W is on site and is usually accessible. They can clear the items for you with you providing all the paperwork on the way you acquired them.
Other airports don't always have federal F&G on site. That means you cannot easily clear them because the US Customs folks are not wildlife experts and don't usually have a clue what is Protected endangered or how to identify an animal from horns alone. So they will hold them until they can be inspected by F&G. In this case you can eventually collect them if it's the airport near where you live. Otherwise you now need to figure out a way to get them from the F&G lockup to your home. That will in many cases require a Broker which is not free or inexpensive.
The easiest way is to have them shipped and then clear them when they arrive at your closest airport and make an appointment with F&G to have them get you through the process. It's rather easy, but time consuming with the running around getting everything signed off before they hand them over to you.
I do this frequently, so I have a mind set going in that it's a long dragged out process with lots of paperwork. This way I'm not stressed out from the day long event of clearing trophies.
More then one time, I have had people bring animals back that customs saw a tiny sliver of dried meat inside the skull and seized it because the hunter brought in an " unprocessed" animal with "meat" on it. They freak out when they see any meat. Including biltong in a sealed bag!
Over all I suggest against this process with freshly boiled trophies, the one exception is a completely finished skull and horns mounted on a plaque that has the paperwork from the taxidermy and the dip pack processor. This then looks like a curio to US customs and not a hunting trophy. With the proper paperwork showing t's not endangered or threatened, they usually slide right through the process.
If the dog finds it, you're out of luck. I had some cut down bushbuck horns inside a sweater that made it, but they were pick ups and sun dried clean long before the trip. A PH sprayed some boiled out warthog tusks with his wife's hairspray and bagged them for us one trip. No dog, no foul that time, but they came from one he'd trapped on his dad's farm, not something we shot. I'd not risk it myself...
I will be flying from Johannesburg to Atlanta, and on to Washington. What is the worst that could happens if I put a piece of impala horn in my checked bag, and it is found in Atlanta?
I just want some small pieces to make a knife handle from.
They'll confiscate it.
No biggie...you can buy them cheap on Ebay....
I could live with that if that's the worst that could happen.
It wouldn't mean as much to have a knife made with someone else's horns as it would to have one made from my own animal's horns.
True...
Ive brought horns, warthog tusks, and tanned springbok hides in my luggage, never an issue....
Back in the day I brought in 5 elephant hair bracelets at ATL in my checked baggage without any problems. I doubt that I would risk that today, what with the elephant import ban.
As to the legality and penalties of bringing in horns today, I would check with TSA and the USDA. The Feds seem crazy about fining people and corporations nowadays.
BH63