Primary Navigation for the CDC Website

• Home
• About CDC
• Press Room
• A-Z Index
• Contact Us

CDC en Español
Search: Go Button:

Bringing Animal Products into the United States

Nonhuman primate trophy materials may require a CDC permit. Prospective importers of nonhuman primate trophy materials from nonhuman primates should review the permit requirements and complete an application form, following the Guidance for Individuals Wishing to Import Non-Human Primate Trophies, Skins or Skulls. Trophy materials of other animals under import embargo because of viral zoonotic infections, such as civets, Asian birds, and African rodents, may be imported if the body has been sufficiently processed to render it non-infectious. Proper methods of accomplishing this include:

• Heat (heated to an internal temperature of 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit) or placed in boiling water for a minimum of 30 minutes)
• Preservation in 2 percent formaldehyde
• Chemically treating in acidic or alkaline solutions (soaking in a solution below pH 3.0 or above pH 11.5 for 24 hours)
• The use of hypertonic salts

Trophy materials from other animals are not restricted by CDC unless they are known or suspected to be capable of transmitting human disease. See regulation 42CFR71.54. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as international treaty, ban the importation of trophies from endangered species.
As with animal trophy materials, animal tissue must be properly processed to render it non-infectious. Some products that are more difficult to render non-infectious, such as goat-skin drums from Haiti, which have been associated with anthrax, may not be imported.
It is illegal to traffic in products made from endangered species, such as rhinoceros horn and elephant tusk. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife website provides information on endangered species, the National Marine Fisheries Service website provides information on endangered marine species, and the CITES website provides information on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.