The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport may soon be designated as a global port of entry for wildlife and wildlife-derived products thanks to legislation passing through Congress.
First introduced by Rep. Sam Graves in July 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, or H.R. 3935, is a federal funding bill designed to fund the agency through Fiscal Year 2028. As part of the bill, Sen. Rand Paul attached an amendment that would designate CVG as a global port of entry for products under the purview of the United States Department of Fish and Wildlife.
If passed, the fish and wildlife department would be allowed to directly process shipments of wildlife and wildlife-derived products at CVG. This ranges from live animals to things like leather watch bands.
Currently, the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport is the only designated port of entry for these products in Kentucky.
“I think it’ll encourage more international business to come into our airport,” Paul said. “I think our airport will be excited by it and so will the people doing a lot of the shipping in and out of the airport.”
The current process requires couriers at CVG to drive wildlife goods elsewhere for inspection by the fish and wildlife department. In certain instances, couriers ship wildlife goods to Louisville for inspection, then return 100 miles back to CVG and finally ship the goods to their intended destination. Paul said he hopes the amendment will cut down the process’s logistical footprint.
The bill passed the Senate on May 10 and passed the House of Representatives on July 20, 2023. The bill is currently back in the House, where the legislative body will soon vote on the various amendments attached to it.
