bluewatersail

of been near livestock? That's one of the questions on the US Customs form given to pax entering the US. I always check "no" in response to this question because I don't want a hassle.

I'm an avid horseperson and ride a lot when I go to Europe, I often visit horse farms as well. If I check "yes" and admit to having been on farms and having ridden horses, will this automatically delay my entry into the US (secondary inspection)? I always travel with my boots, helmet and breeches and if I ever got inspected I might be asked why I had such items, so that's the only reason I hesitate. Then again, I'm not sure of their definition of "livestock" and "farm"

bhatnasx

I thought about that question too...

I was in Thailand and we were on Koh Phangan and the bungalow we stayed at had chickens and roosters running around. It wasn't a farm - it was a bungalow on the beach - and there were only about 3 roosters and 8 chickents, but they were there, nonetheless. We even killed one of the roosters and ate it for dinner (it was cock-a-doodle-doing at 2AM and one night, one of the drunk Australians who was staying there with us made a commitment to kill it and eat it - the next morning, the bungalow owner caught the rooster and made him kill it - he said it was drunk talk and pussed out, but after enough taunting from the bungalow owner, he finally hacked it's head off and we ate it).

I answered No to the question at customs.

modernbeat

Taking a SWAG at this...

I'd guess that they want to make sure that any manure and dandruff is not brought into the country.

I'd guess that if you visit a farm abroad, but do not visit a farm in the US, you might be OK.

If you answer yes, they will most likely want the clothing you were wearing to be quarentined as if it were an animal.

richard

I believe they are primarily interested in preventing hoof and mouth disease from coming into the USA via droppings and dander that sticks to your boots and clothes.

I wondered this myself. I take a lenient approach to what is considered a farm and check "no".

HomelessScientist

I've checked yes to this question once in the past. They asked a few follow-up questions, found that I had only walked on farmland (not handled animals) and that the farmland was in Switzerland (not part of the foot-and-mouth epidemic). They asked what shoes I had worn, and I pulled out a pair of dirty hiking boots, which they took to a back room and washed/disinfected.

So, I got my boots cleaned for free by the USDA as a result of this question. Highly recommended service. :-) The level of hassle was pretty minimal; answering yes to this question did not, in my experience, trigger a full secondary customs or agriculture inspection.

workin_it

Same experience here....no further hassles, just a free cleaning of my boots. I had been on a cattle ranch in Guatemala vaccinating a herd, so I didn't think I had much choice about how to answer. However, in the future I wouldn't hesitate to say yes and get my shoes cleaned up! :-)

Kate_Canuck

In some countries, it can be more efficient to answer "yes" - eg Australia and New Zealand (I think), where the "secondary inspection" line is a separate, shorter line than the regular customs/immigration line.

GadgetFreak

I was at a rice research station in the Phillipines a few years ago. When flying back into Kennedy I answered yes. I had a short, but pleasant chat with the Ag inspector. He looked at the shoes I wore, he checked for dirt on them but didnt disinfect them as I recall. He said he was looking for mud that might have pathogens in it, particulary rice related ones since that was where I had visited. It was very short and professional.

I really urge people not to lie about this. Some customs, immigration, TSA etc stuff is complete BS and we all know it. This isnt. It is really important that we cooperate in keeping these diseases out of the US to the greatest degree possible. It was a really minimal event in my experience and can be very beneficial

DeafFlyer

I stayed on my brother in laws farm in 2001. His farm had been quarantine the week before, but no hoof and mouth disease was found there. When I got back to Dulles, I checked yes on the form. However, since I was in a wheelchair, my family and I bypassed customs screening entirely. I thought it was wrong but that's what they did. This was during the big foot and mouth scare time in Europe.

HeHateY

That's exactly it. Frankly, any boots that have been worn in rural areas need to be "shallacked" with dis-infectant.

Who knows what your riding boots might be carrying?!

I always answer this question truthfully and it only takes a moment to pull my shoes out of my suitcase.

travelmad478

I do answer "yes" to this question when that is the truth. Given the stunning level of economic damage that can result from the introduction of a serious livestock disease into any country, it's hard to see how ten minutes of my time is more important than keeping food supplies safe, avoiding the needless deaths of millions of livestock, ruining the livelihood of thousands of farmers...etc.

The only time I've gotten held up more than 90 seconds was when I returned from a riding safari in Zimbabwe in 2001 (when foot and mouth was still a big threat). I had my boots and shoes disinfected by the Ag staff. It took all of ten minutes. I've also been sent to the secondary inspection on occasion even when I haven't been on a farm--for instance, when I returned from Paris to PHL in May 2003, the whole planeload of passengers had to go through it. Again, it took a very short time (even though I was carrying a bag of pastry). I just don't see this as a big hardship.

rkt10

You know, when I first started reading the responses to this thread, I was leaning toward guessing that I would answer, "No" in your circumstances.

But as I read about, and thought about the damage to humans and business/the economy from a full-fledged hoof-and-mouth disease, I got to thinking that it would be a terrible thing for someone to inadvertantly bring in such a disease, and have answered untruthfully.

Your reluctance to answer honestly could (conceivably) injure me.

So, fess up pardner.

InIndiana

I once checked yes to the farm question -- after having visited Hadrian's Wall in England and walked through sheep pasture. However, this was on the old form, and I had also brought food back with me.

The inspector saw the yes answer to that question, asked me about the food I was bringing back and then changed my answer from Yes to No, without having asked me about visiting a farm.

richard

For some of us, this thread shows how our trust in our government is low, so we are reluctant to be honest about anything for fear we will get into trouble, it will be used against us, etc. Not an irrational fear either

If the USA backed off of CAPPS II and all the other Patriot garbage, I know I'd be less suspicious. But as it is, well, I dont' want any US government official going through my stuff even a USDA inspector. I just don't trust any of them.

squeakr

in this case it IS an irrational fear that the rest of us may have to pay for..I have known several Ag inspectors and I can say they are NOTHING Like homeland security or customs (who I despise) - they only want to keep people safe from vermin, disease etc , and their rules actually HAVE a basis in reality and medical science.

So PLEASE don't use this issue to hang a political nail on - the rest of us may suffer...