I'm confused by posts here and elsewhere on this subject.

Can I get shoulder mounts made in SA and shipped directly to my house with no further hassle?

My nearby (USA) taxidermist says I can tell the guy in SA to ship via a broker to a tannery in Northe Carolina, which will then ship to the USA taxidermist, if I have the USA taxidermist do the shoulder mounts. Can I do this without hassle?

"Hassle" is defined as getting special permits, going to another city, going to a govt. office., etc.---anything except paying a bill.

Are there special restrictions about warthogs, and do these go away if the warthog gets mounted in SA and shipped from there?

i am assuming that you are in the U.S.?

To avoid "hassle" use a customs brokerage no matter where the trophies are mounted. There are several companies that are often recommended and cursed on these forums. I personally use Fauna & Flora and have had nothing but good service from them.

If they are mounted in Africa the customs brokerage will notify you when they arrive in the U.S. and they can arrange shipping to your door.

If you want them mounted here, again the customs brokerage will notify you when they arrive and are cleared in the U.S. At this point the trophies will not be shipped to you but will go to a USDA approved facility. This could be an approved taxidermist or a tannery.

There is no reason to have the warthog mounted over there unless you want to. The customs brokerage can explain all of this to you and you will not need to worry.

Contact a brokerage and let them know what you are having shipped and they will assist you if any permits are needed, such as for baboon, leopard etc..

All of this can be done on your own but if you want to avoid "hassle" I HIGHLY recommend using a customs brokerage.

If you are using a taxidermist in the U.S. they should be able to assist you with all of this as well.

Good luck.

I agree with Grafton. If you want no hassles use a brokerage firm to handle for you. In the past you only had to ship directly to a USDA approved facility if you had unfinished swine in your shipment. But that has recently changed to now include all unfinished products which includes antelope, swine and everything. My guess this change has happened due to the various dieases that can be spread.

Indy,

What I do and recommend is to first establish a relationship with a an Africa oriented taxidermist. He will give you tags to attach to all your horns,capes, backskins etc. The tags will have your contact info as well as the taxidermist's and the broker's. Give the tags to your PH and literally you should personal have to do nothing other than pay when trophies arrive in the States. If you deal with someone like Atcheson's Taxidermy or Jerry Huffaker who are very familiar with the whole process your biggest hassle will be hanging your trophies in the house.

For numerous reasons I don't recommend African taxidermy but that is a whole other subject that has been debated here before. If your looking for less hassle the Africa Taxidermy route is not easier.

Mark

Thanks, everyone. My taxidermist also recommends fauna and flora. I think I am going to get the SA taxidermist to do the zebra rug and skull mount, then ship via fauna and flora to the tannery in North Carolina, USA. Then to my USA taxidermist, who is close by. Also I need to measure these things to decide postiions, tilt, where they will fit in the house or office, etc.

Be prepared to pay 2x-3x for taxidermy work on African mounts done in the USA, vs done at point of export. If you are rich enough to go to Africa, most Stateside taxidermists think you are rich enough to pay the premium. (Compare the cost of mounting a white-tailed deer to an impala in the USA to local mounting. Safari Taxidermy in Polokwane RSA charges $315 for an impala shoulder mount. Bear in mind that you have to pay for dip and pack at point of export, if you export raw trophies, in addition to USA taxidermy costs. Dip and pack on Impala Skull, Horns, cape and backskin is $170 at Safari. So in effect, the cost of the mount is $145 if you have it done there, on an apples-to-apples basis.

You will give up some of these savings because your crate will be bigger, but Safari in particular is very adept at getting a lot of trophies into a small crate. So your freight premium on 5 trophies is of the order of $150-250. But again, if you import raw trophies, they have to go to the tannery, then the taxidermy, then to your home. So you end up paying that and more in domestic freight.

Given all of this, the only reason to have the mounts done Stateside is .... I can't think of one.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:
Be prepared to pay 2x-3x for taxidermy work on African mounts done in the USA, vs done at point of export. If you are rich enough to go to Africa, most Stateside taxidermists think you are rich enough to pay the premium. (Compare the cost of mounting a white-tailed deer to an impala in the USA to local mounting. Safari Taxidermy in Polokwane RSA charges $315 for an impala shoulder mount. Bear in mind that you have to pay for dip and pack at point of export, if you export raw trophies, in addition to USA taxidermy costs. Dip and pack on Impala Skull, Horns, cape and backskin is $170 at Safari. So in effect, the cost of the mount is $145 if you have it done there, on an apples-to-apples basis.

You will give up some of these savings because your crate will be bigger, but Safari in particular is very adept at getting a lot of trophies into a small crate. So your freight premium on 5 trophies is of the order of $150-250. But again, if you import raw trophies, they have to go to the tannery, then the taxidermy, then to your home. So you end up paying that and more in domestic freight.

Given all of this, the only reason to have the mounts done Stateside is .... I can't think of one.

This is imply not true about being way more expensive in the USA. I did a price comparison awhile back on 8 shoudler mounts between my taxidermst and Highveld's in SA and the price was within $100 of each other in total. I included kudu, gemsbok, warthog, impala, bushbuck, blesbok, steenbok and springbok. These stories I keep hearing that ALL USA taxidermst are way more expensive is simply FALSE.

David: Who is our taxdermist and where is he located? I'm trying to find a good taxidermist here in the US close to my home in Jacksonville, Florida with africa experience. How much does he charge for a full mount bushbuck and a buffalo shoulder mount? jorge

Jorge, I use McMicken Taxidermy in Cartersville, GA which is about an hour north of Atlanta up I-75.

Bushbuck full body $1900
Buffalo shoulder $1050

Just for comparison, Highveld in RSAis
Bushbuck $1678
Buffalo $1065

Be careful with single point comparisons. There are also taxidermists in RSA who think that if you are American (or European), you are rich so you can pay US prices (yes they do have internet down there too).

I paid 1200 for my bushbuck and 850 for my buff in RSA. Russ is absolutely right. I bet if I lived in RSA prices would even be less. jorge

I realize that that I could probably find taxidermist both here and in Africa that are cheaper and also more expensive. It just wanted to point out that it does not pay to generalize that whole group based on a few. Also, If I find some that there prices are too cheap, I bet your mounts will also be cheap. I used Highveld for comparison as I have toured their shop and their stuff looked of good quality. They even do stuff for museums.

I can only comment on what I have personally seen, as I can not make recommendations on peoples work that I have not seen as compared to their prices. My best suggestion is whoever people decide to use is to check their work, ask plenty of questions and work out the best price possible for themselves. I personnaly choose to use my taxidermst here so I can check on the progress of the work and make changes if necessary.

Warthog skulls and baboon skull have to go to a taxidermist approved by USDA...Also if they are in same crate with your animals..All has to go to taxi...



Mike

Mike:
I don't think so. If the skulls are cleaned, cured and ready for display, they do not have to go to a taxidermist.
They can be in the same crate as long as they are in a seperate box.
I cleared my stuff last year in Anchorage. I had a hog skull, a hog head mount and a baboon skull. They took a casual look and signed the forms.

Here are the new regs copied of SCI website

[QUOTE]Guidelines for the Importation of Ruminant Trophies

For U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspections Services, Veterinary Services purposes, a trophy is part of the animal carcass that can be used as a remembrance/souvenir of “the hunt†that is suitable for mounting and for personal use only, no further distribution is allowed.

For this guidance document, trophies consist of bones, antlers, skulls, horns and hoofs (with or without bony attachments).

* Leather, tanned, and flint-dried hides and skins are allowed unrestricted entry.

* Unprocessed hides, skins, and horns (without bony attachments) are allowed entry if consigned to an approved establishment.*

* Clean, dry hoofs (without bony attachments) may be imported if they meet USDA requirements for disinfection and are accompanied by a certificate issued by the country of origin.**

* Trophies (bones, antlers, skulls, and horns and hoofs with bony attachments) derived from ruminants originating from regions classified as affected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are allowed importation into the U.S. provided:
o The trophies (bones, antlers, skulls, and horns and hoofs with bony attachments) are fully taxidermy finished.

o The trophies (bones, antlers, skulls, and horns and hoofs with bony attachments) are not fully taxidermy finished, but are clean, dry, and free from undried pieces of hide, flesh, and sinew and are offered for consignment to museums.

o The trophies (bones, antlers, skulls, and horns and hoofs with bony attachments) are not fully taxidermy finished but are clean, dry, and free from undried pieces of hide, flesh, and sinew and are not offered for consignment to museums; are manifested as a trophy and consigned to an approved establishment.*

º A copy of the hunting license or other documentation that conclusively demonstrates lawful possession of a game animal from the country of origin issued by the foreign government is presented at the U.S. port of entry. The hunting license or other documentation that conclusively demonstrates lawful possession of a game animal from the country of origin shall identify the animal species and correspond to the number of animals harvested.

*

Trophies (bones, skulls, and/or attached horns, antlers, and hoofs) derived from ruminants originating from regions classified as free from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are allowed importation into the U.S. provided:
o Trophies (bones, skulls, and/or attached horns, antlers, and hoofs), are allowed unrestricted entry provided the trophies are fully taxidermy finished.

o Trophies (bones, skulls, and/or attached horns, antlers, and hoofs) that are not fully taxidermy finished, but are clean, dry, and free from undried pieces of hide, flesh, and sinew and are offered for entry as trophies are allowed entry if consigned to an approved establishment* or if for consignment to museums.

o Trophies (bones, skulls, and/or attached horns, antlers, and hoofs) that are not clean, dry, and free from undried pieces of hide, flesh, and sinew and are offered for entry as trophies are allowed entry if for consignment to museums or consigned to an approved establishment* are allowed entry.

*The approved establishment shall handle these trophies in such a manner to guard against the dissemination of anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease, and rinderpest.

**Disinfection includes one of the following methods: (1) dry heat at 180`F (82.2`C) for 30 minutes; (2) soaking in boiling water for 20 minutes; (3) soaking in a 0.1% chlorine bleach solution for 2 hours; (4) soaking in a 5% acetic acid solution for 2 hours; (5) soaking in a 5% hydrogen peroxide for 2 hours.

Full taxidermy finished refers to the prepared, stuffed, and/or mounted part of the dead animal for exhibition as completed by a taxidermist.