Sorry Steve, no matter how many stamps you stick on it, you can’t mail a trout out of California…even for deer meat…
Excerpt from July 9th LA Times’ Outposts Section:
Fish and Game Q&A: Can I mail trout to someone out of state? Can he send me venison?
Question: I was wondering about the laws on mailing fish. A friend of mine took me to Eagle Lake a few years ago, and to return the favor I always bring him some fish on the way home. He is going to be moving to Kansas and I want to send him some of the prized fish. Is it legal to ship them through the mail? I know I can get live lobsters from Maine, but they are a commercial product. My friend also wants to try to send me some venison but we’re not sure of the laws there either. Thank you for your help. (Steve)
Answer: Unfortunately, it is not legal to ship trout outside of California (FGC Section 2356.) You also cannot personally transport them to another state, unless you have a nonresident angling license or are on active military duty (in which case you may personally transport no more than one limit of trout across state lines).
As far as venison mailed across state lines, as long as the animal was taken legally in the state of origin, it can be shipped to a recipient in California for their personal use, provided the shipper complies with the following procedures:
According to Captain (ret.) Phil Nelms, both California (FGC Section 2348) and United States (Lacey Act) laws require that packages containing wildlife and being shipped by common carrier “… shall bear the name and address of the shipper and of the consignee and an accurate description of the numbers and kinds of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians contained therein clearly and conspicuously marked on the outside thereof.” In addition, a declaration form must be filed when importing fish, game, etc. (FGC 2353.) This form is available online at www.dfg.ca.gov/enforcement/docs/declaration_form.pdf.
Though it’s not a requirement, it would be a good idea for your friend to include with his venison shipment a copy of his valid hunting license and tags for the deer, along with all information regarding where and when the animal was taken.
Read the entire LA Times article here:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/07/fish-and-game-qa-1.html
